River Falls Dunkin Donuts' owner Sahil Taneja has one simple rule he follows for business and life: "If you take care of people, then they will take care of you. Life is a circle."

A donut is a circle and Sahil has been selling a lot of them for the past two years since he opened his Dunkin Donuts in River Falls in June 2023. A circle, however, was not the shape that shaped Taneja growing up in India. That was a straight line with a triangle arrow pointing toward America.

Taneja grew up in India and his dad, Vinod, served in the army.

"We moved from state to state every two years," said Sahil, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in hotel management in India and also earned a degree in hotel finance in England, but he always dreamed of living in the United States.

"My dad asked me, 'Sahil, are you sure you want to go to America?' because he couldn't afford it," said Taneja. "I told him America is the land of opportunity and I want to see what I can do."

Vinod took a second mortgage out on his home and Taneja became emotional telling the story of when his dad told him in 1999: "I can afford to get you there and pay for one semester of college, but after that, it's on you."

"I knew I had a one-way ticket and when you have that frame of mind, it's do or die, and I didn't have a choice," said Taneja.

Failure was not an option for Tanea, who routinely worked 100 hours per week mowing grass at a golf course and working in restaurants and hotels while attending Southern New Hampshire University. His college program was 18 months long and the September 11 terrorist attacks had just happened the previous fall. His student visa was expiring soon.

"I literally had two days left, but I had interviewed with a company in Minnesota," said Taneja. "They hired me, sponsored the work visa, and asked, 'how long will it take you to relocate?' I told them I'll be there tomorrow."

Taneja began working at the Radisson in Roseville in 2002. He worked his way up the ladder for the next 18 years from a banquet hall captain to an assistant manager, then restaurant manager, and then finally, general manager.

"I had a great job, but my dream had always been to own my own business," said Taneja. "You name the business opportunity and I looked at it."

Taneja and his wife, Mercedes, were at a college reunion in New Hampshire and having a coffee and donut at Dunkin Donuts.

"They (Dunkin Donuts) are everywhere out there," said Taneja. "My wife said, 'there are no Dunkins in Minnesota, why don't you open one?’ The light went on for me."

After a few more years of saving, learning, and becoming a U.S. citizen, Taneja bought three Dunkin Donuts all in or near St. Paul on Feb. 6, 2020.  

"Eight days later on Valentine's Day, it was really cold outside, but we still had a line out the door at 7:20 a.m.," said Taneja. "By 8:20 a.m. we were out of 80 dozen donuts."

He knew at that moment it would be a good business. One of his employees asked, "What do we do now (since they were out of donuts)?"

"We're going to make more donuts," said Taneja. "When you run your own business, you have to roll up your sleeves and do what is needed."

Covid-19 threw a major wrench in his business plan just over a month later.

"We were shut down but luckily we had a drive-thru,” said Taneja. “That saved us, but I was still thinking, 'what did I get myself into?’”

Two smiles locked together also make a circle

Taneja was picking up his 3-year-old son from pre-school in 2021. The teacher asked what he did for a living because the kids had a presentation earlier that day.

"I told her I sold coffee and donuts and own Dunkin' shops, but I was thinking, uh oh, what in the world did my son say," said Taneja.

"Why do you ask?" he sheepishly replied.

"Well," replied the teacher, "your son said, 'my dad makes people smile.’"

"I thought to myself on the ride home that day I might be looking at this business completely wrong," said Taneja. "We aren't selling coffee and donuts, we're selling smiles and our mindset completely changed. Our goal is to bring a smile to every person’s face that visits us."

Taneja was looking to expand to River Falls in 2023. He met with River Falls' resident and building co-owner Sabine Furlong. Usually with a long-term commercial rental agreement, the renter is the customer and typically has somewhat of an upper hand during the negotiation process.

"Somehow, B (Sabine's nickname) totally flipped it," said Taneja laughing. "She was interviewing me and not the other way around."

"Sahil likes to pay it forward," said Furlong, "and be involved in the community and that's a big piece of his personality that we really liked. He's a really cool individual and he's worked incredibly hard to get to where he is."

Customers will see Taneja behind the cash register or working the drive-thru window at one of his Dunkins every day. He knows all 165 employees by name.

"I have to be in the restaurants to be able to know my customers," said Taneja.

During the photo opportunity for this story, Taneja struck up a conversation with the woman pictured in the adjacent picture at the register. Before the woman left, she had a smile on her face and a job application in her hand.

"I don't know if it's something in the water, but as soon as you cross the river," said Taneja, "the people are much nicer and more patient. The kids working in River Falls have a great work ethic, too. I wish I could duplicate it in the Cities. I’m trying to get another store in New Richmond now."

In college, Taneja said he didn't have a car and someone picked him up for work. He said someone else let him sleep on their couch.

"A lot of people helped me get to where I am," said Taneja, giving a full circle answer when asked about his immigration hardships. "Just because one or two people aren't nice, doesn't mean I stop doing good. I've traveled the world quite a bit and the people in this country are the friendliest people in the world. Sometimes the small things can impact people like crazy." 

Life is a circle for Sahil Taneja. His circles, however, just happen to be glazed or dipped in chocolate.