Gunārs Ķirsons (born 17 May 1951, in

Omsk Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...

) is a Latvian entrepreneur, businessman and founder of the Latvian chain of restaurants. He is also the president of the

Latvian Judo Federation Latvian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Latvia **Latvians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to what is modern-day Latvia and the immediate geographical region **Latvian language, also referred to as Lettish **Latvian cuisine **Latvi ...

Biography

His father, Alberts Ķirsons, was a successful farmer during the first Republic of Latvia.Raitis Strautiņš, Egīls Zirnis (January 15, 2011). "There's meat in my cutlet!". ''SestDiena'' : pp. 10—15. In 1959, he returned to

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

with his family from Soviet deportation. He studied at Riga’s 17th Vocational Technical School, Murjāņi Sports School, the woodcraft department of an art school, and Riga’s 23rd Evening Shift Secondary School, from which he graduated in 1972. From 1968 to 1975, he worked as a carpenter, locksmith, and design technician. He also worked as a bartender at the restaurants “Ruse” (1975–1990) and “Ščecina.” In 1987, Ķirsons founded the cooperative "Lido" and served as its director until 1991. That same year, he opened the first Lido bar in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

on Lāčplēša Street. In 1991, he became the owner of the company Lido, building the largest restaurant chain in Latvia. In 2005, he established the company "Zaļā zeme Lido," which is engaged in real estate. He has been a three-time Latvian champion in

sambo Sambo may refer to: Places * Sambo, Angola, a commune in Tchicala Tcholohanga, Huambo Province, Angola * Sambo Creek, a village in Honduras People * Ferdy Sambo (born 1973), former Indonesian police general * Khem Sambo (1961–2011), Cambodi ...

and is also a Baltic states champion. He holds a black belt in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

, although he initially trained in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

, specifically

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

. In 2005, he founded the judo club “Lido” and serves as its president. In 2009, he was elected chairman of the board of the Latvian Judo Federation (no English article). In 2000, he was awarded the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

, 5th Class. In 2025, he resigned from the board of the company Lido, retaining a 4% shareholding. That same year, he founded the catering company “Daba GK” and, through the company RIC, purchased a café in

Mežaparks Mežaparks () is a neighbourhood of Northern District in Riga, the capital of Latvia. It consists of a residential area to the South and a large urban park to the North of the same name – Mežaparks. The neighbourhood is located on the west ...

References

1951 births Living people People from Omsk 20th-century Latvian businesspeople {{Europe-business-bio-stub