The KS Story

KS_OurStory

The story of KS Restaurant began long ago in a small village in the Mediterranean.

Growing up on a farm and having to work the land to harvest crops, Kelly Swaita had a dream of immigrating to Canada and starting a restaurant in order to have a better life for his family. Soon after arriving in Ottawa and after several years of hard work, Kelly purchased his first restaurant in Hull, Quebec in 1963. With the help of his sister Sheila and wife Nancy, Kelly operated and sold several restaurants until he decided to build his own restaurant the way he wanted in 1971. That gave birth to the original KS Restaurant in the South end of Ottawa.

Over the course of almost 50 years, Kelly has been very fortunate with the support from the community in developing not only his business but his dream! Our community has made KS one of the oldest businesses in the area. Kelly has embraced this community as his family and has always been a strong believer in giving back through sponsorships of various sporting teams and charities.

Kelly’s original dream of opening a restaurant grew over the years. His dedication to deliver quality food and service to the community he calls his family, took his dream to a higher level. He wanted to design a restaurant that gave people a place where they can meet and have a different experience each and every time. This led the original KS Restaurant to evolve to a truly unique vision. Unfortunately, Kelly passed away before he could fulfill his vision; however his spirit continues to develop that vision into the new KS on the Keys Restaurant Bar Catering.