Ghulam Mohammed "Bombay" Bombaywala is a Pakistani-American restaurateur in

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

.Bombaywala, Ghulam Bombaywala transcript, 2 of 2
(Oral Histories from the Houston History Project)
Archive
. University of Houston Libraries. (Interview of Ghulam Mohammed Bombaywala, HHA #00570, July 19, 2007, Interviewer: Uzma Quraishi, Transcribed by Suzanne Mascola) p. 1. "I started out going to school - University of Houston downtown campus. It used to be South Texas Junior College." In 1999, Magaret L. Briggs of the ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

'' wrote that Bombaywala was "well-known" and "perhaps most famous for sharing his rags-to-riches tale with Oprah's audience".Briggs, Margaret L.
Taking the Heat

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. ''

''. Thursday April 8, 1999. Retrieved on May 12, 2014. In 2006 Edward Hegstrom of the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

'' wrote "Bombaywala's rise to success is practically legend in Houston."Hegstrom, Edward.
Restaurateur's money woes spark more discord
" ''

''. January 9, 2006. Retrieved on May 2, 2014.

Early life

Bombaywala was born and raised in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...

. His family name originated from India, where his parents came from.Bombaywala, Ghulam Bombaywala transcript, 2 of 2
(Oral Histories from the Houston History Project)
Archive
. University of Houston Libraries. (Interview of Ghulam Mohammed Bombaywala, HHA #00570, July 19, 2007, Interviewer: Uzma Quraishi, Transcribed by Suzanne Mascola) p. 2. "GB: From Pakistan. I was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan. My parents migrated from India and that is where the last name came from - Bombaywala, surname." He attended primary and secondary school in Karachi, first going to the Unique English School, then

Church Mission School The Church Mission School (CMS), officially known as CMS Government Boys Higher Secondary School, is a public School in Karachi, Pakistan. The school was operated by the Christ Church before its 1971 nationalisation. Azizullah Sharif of ''Dawn'' ...

(CMS), then the Government National College, where he got an intermediate school diploma or an "Inter".Bombaywala, Ghulam Bombaywala transcript, 2 of 2
(Oral Histories from the Houston History Project)
Archive
. University of Houston Libraries. (Interview of Ghulam Mohammed Bombaywala, HHA #00570, July 19, 2007, Interviewer: Uzma Quraishi, Transcribed by Suzanne Mascola) p. 3. "GB: Karachi. I went to school there. Unique English School. Then, from there, you know, in Karachi, of course, called CMS. Then, the college was National College. I did my Inter

s in, intermediate school diploma S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. History ...

from there and then came here. Then got my associate degree from the University of Houston."

Career

1970s and 1980s

At age 17, in 1973 he arrived in Houston on a student visa. On arrival, he had fewer than $50 ($ according to inflation) in cash. That year he began studying at South Texas Junior College.Hegstrom, Edward.
Making A Difference: Restaurateur lobbies on behalf of Muslims
" ''

''. August 15, 2004. Retrieved on May 12, 2014. After arriving, he began working as a busboy. At first he had started a chain of convenience stores after saving enough funds to do so.Apte, Angela.
Local buyer lifts Watermarc out of Chapter 11
" ''

Houston Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor New ...

''. September 5, 1999. Retrieved on May 12, 2014. He ultimately earned an associate degree from the University of Houston–Downtown College. Bombaywala was part-owner of ten convenience stores and four liquor stores in 1982.Hassell, Greg. "Restaurateur buys stake in Stop N Go - Houston businessman considering acquisition of additional shares." ''

''. Wednesday January 22, 1992. Business p. 1. Available at

NewsBank NewsBank is a news database resource that provides archives of media publications as reference materials to libraries. History John Naisbitt, the author of the book ''Megatrends'', founded NewsBank.Andrews 1998, p. 17. The company was launched ...

, Record Number 01*22*1032262. Available at the Houston Public Library website with a library card. With his saved funds, he bought an Italian restaurant in Montrose, Michelangelo's. At one time Michelangelo's had refused to employ Bombaywala for a busboy position due to his low English fluency. He had also established a restaurant chain, Marco's. He later bought partial ownership of

James Coney Island James Coney Island, Inc. is a chain of fast food restaurants that specializes in Coney Island hot dogs. It has its headquarters, the James Coney Island Support Center, located in Suite 700 in the 11111 Katy Freeway building in Houston. History ...

and other restaurant chains. In the late 1980s, Bombaywala traveled to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

for five days to do research on delicatessens. Each day, he ate at three different delicatessens. After he returned to Houston, he took recipes from one of the

partners Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

who agreed to work with him, Mrs. Katz. By 1989 he opened Guggenheim's Delicatessen, a New York-style deli, located at the intersection of San Felipe and Post Oak Boulevard.Ailing restaurant chain to auction Mexican, Italian eateries
" ''

''. January 26, 2004. Retrieved on May 12, 2014.

1990s

Ernst and Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewater ...

called Bombaywala the retail entrepreneur of Houston of the year in 1991. He acquired Two Pesos Inc., which was making annual losses of $2.7 million, and became the company's chairperson and president. In 1993 he sold Two Pesos, by then profitable, for $30 million to Taco Cabana. Two Pesos had 27 locations as of 1999. Because of this and other turn-arounds of restaurants, Bombaywala became known as the "restaurant doctor". In 1992 he acquired one million shares, or 5%, of the convenience store chain National Convenience Stores, which is the parent of

Stop N Go National Convenience Stores Incorporated (NYSE: NCS) is a convenience store company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Its primary subsidiary, Stop-N-Go Foods Inc., is/was the company controlling the convenience stores. History F. J. Dyke, Jr., a f ...

. In 1994 Bombaywala expressed his intention to open Marco's Mexican Restaurant locations across the United States. In July 1994 Bombaywala merged Marco's Mexican Restaurants and Billy Blues Food Co.,Hassell, Greg. "`Bombay' to run Billy Blues/Headquarters to be moved here." ''

''. Friday September 2, 1994. Available at

, Record Number HSC09021223582. Available at the Houston Public Library website with a library card. a

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

chain. This meant he received the vice chairperson position and a 54% ownership of the combined company. At the time of the merger, the Billy Blues restaurants were making losses and had a large debt. In September the board of the merged company elected Bombaywala as the chairperson. At the time there were 12 Billy Blues restaurants, including one in Houston. Billy Blues also owned 20 Marcos Mexican Restaurants in Houston and those were acquired too. Bombaywala planned to move the Billy Blues headquarters from San Antonio to Houston. By 1998 he had established a holding company for some of his restaurants, Watermarc Food Management Co., and he served as its chairperson. It was the holding company of Billy Blues Barbecue Bar & Grill, Marco's Mexican Restaurant, and The Original Pasta Co. In regards to Billy Blues, Bombaywala was unable to turn around that restaurant nor was he able to placate the company's creditors. In January 1999 Watermarc filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...

bankruptcy. By September 1999 five Billy Blue's restaurants closed. By 1999, Bombaywala appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show, and the episode discussed the rise of his business empire. On Monday August 30, 1999 a U.S. bankruptcy court approved of the bankruptcy settlement. According to the settlement, the assets, including 29 restaurants, were to be sold to Five Points Investments Inc., a company owned by Haroon Sheikh, for $13 million. The restaurants were to continue to be operated under their current names. Watermarc was scheduled to be dissolved. Shaikh became the sole owner and CEO of Five Points, while Bombaywala became the overseer of daily management at Five Points. At the time the restaurants had a combined total of 1,200 employees.

2000s

In December 2000 Bombaywala closed Guggenheim's. The remaining Billy Blues Bar & Grill location on Richmond Avenue in Houston closed in January 2001. At its peak, Five Points, later named Five Star Restaurants, Inc., and headquartered in

Sugar Land, Texas Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around ...

, had over 40 restaurants. In September 2003 Five Points, now named Five Star, filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...

. On the day of the bankruptcy filing, Bombaywala resigned as the president of the company. By January 2004, the remaining restaurants of Five Star were scheduled to be auctioned off, and the company, which had 300 employees at the time, was scheduled to close. In 2006 Bombaywala himself filed for

Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code) governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, in contrast to Chapters 11 and 13, which govern the process of ''reorganization'' of a debtor. ...

. By 2006 Bombaywala's son officially owned Michelangelo's.

Foundation work

After the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

, Bombaywala became the head of the Pakistani-American Association of Greater Houston (PAGH). He began advocating for more humane treatment of people of Pakistani descent. In the mid-2000s Bombaywala had a conflict with

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Currently, there are sixteen members, 11 elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, ...

member

M.J. Khan Masrur Javed "M.J." Khan (born May 1, 1950) is a Pakistani American and former Houston City Council member.Dooley, Tara. "Khan inspires Muslims with election to council." ''Houston Chronicle''. Saturday, December 13, 2003. Religion p. 1. NewsBank R ...

. After the

2005 Kashmir earthquake The 2005 Kashmir earthquake occurred at on 8 October in Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir. It was centred near the city of Muzaffarabad, and also affected nearby Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some areas of Indian-administered Jammu an ...

, the two men organized separate relief efforts instead of doing a joint effort. Bombaywala had served on the boards of the

Asia Society The Asia Society is a non-profit organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco) and around the world (Hong Kong, Ma ...

of Texas, the

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Gulf Coast Chapter, the Houston Food Bank, and the Sam Houston Area

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth partici ...

Personal life

Bombaywala married twice. In 1978,Bombaywala, Ghulam Bombaywala transcript, 2 of 2
(Oral Histories from the Houston History Project)
Archive
. University of Houston Libraries. (Interview of Ghulam Mohammed Bombaywala, HHA #00570, July 19, 2007, Interviewer: Uzma Quraishi, Transcribed by Suzanne Mascola) p. 19. he married a half-Spanish, half-Irish woman. He was married to her for six years and had three children with her. In 1987 he remarried, and as of 2007 he remains married to his second wife.Bombaywala, Ghulam Bombaywala transcript, 2 of 2
(Oral Histories from the Houston History Project)
Archive
. University of Houston Libraries. (Interview of Ghulam Mohammed Bombaywala, HHA #00570, July 19, 2007, Interviewer: Uzma Quraishi, Transcribed by Suzanne Mascola) p. 20. As of 2004 Bombaywala was a Republican. He planned to vote for George W. Bush as

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

in the 2004 Presidential Election.Mack, Kristen.
Muslims cite betrayal by Bush

Archive
. ''

''. October 29, 2004. Retrieved on May 26, 2014. "Some Muslims have the perception that they are not welcome, said Ghulam Bombaywala, who heads the Pakistani-American Association of Greater Houston. "This is our home and yet we feel we are not wanted here," said Bombaywala, a Republican who still plans to vote for Bush this year."

References

External links

Bombaywala, Ghulam Bombaywala transcript
(Oral Histories from the Houston History Project) University of Houston Libraries. (Interview of Ghulam Mohammed Bombaywala, HHA #00570, July 19, 2007, Interviewer: Uzma Quraishi, Transcribed by Suzanne Mascola)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bombaywala, Ghulam Living people Pakistani emigrants to the United States American restaurateurs University of Houston–Downtown alumni Businesspeople from Houston American people of Gujarati descent Church Mission School alumni 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople Year of birth missing (living people)