Kumar Wickramasingha's long journey to his present status as owner of Kumar's Dining & Catering began in 1982 when he was an AFS student at Washington Community High School in Washington, Illinois. Following his graduation he returned to his native country of Sri Lanka and entered the Sri Lanka Hotel Management School in Columbo, while at the same time, working full time as a waiter at the Hotel Lanka Oberoi. Graduating in 1986, he became banquet manager at the Ramada Renaissance Hotel in Columbo, Sri Lanka. That same year, after a terrorist bomb was planted at the hotel where he worked, he decided to return to the United States.
A Fort Madison couple, George and Jean Alton, whom he had met on his first visit to America, invited him to live with them while he attended Southeastern Community College. While attending college, he worked as a dishwasher at Best Western Iowan Motor Lodge in Fort Madison and steadily worked his way up to Executive Chef. Having received his AA degree and also having completed a course of study in culinary arts at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, New York, Kumar accepted the Executive Chef position with Emerald Lady Riverboat Casino in Fort Madison and later with the Isle of Capri Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, where he helped open the highly successful Calypso's Restaurant, the first in what is now a chain of eight establishments around the country.
In 1994, the offer of General Manager and Executive Chef at Alpha's on the Riverfront brought him back to Fort Madison, and in 1996 he fulfilled his long-awaited dream of becoming a U.S. citizen.Kumar's heart always remained with the Fort Madison restaurant where he started his career in the United States. In 2008, he had an opportunity to open his own restaurant where it all began - at the Iowan Motor Lodge. The new restaurant is more spacious and can accommodate large functions, while offering an intimate dining atmosphere. Kumar is especially pleased that the same 33 dedicated and experienced employees who have been with him for many years have remained with him for this new endeavor.