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

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

.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 Rags to riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, and in some cases from absolute obscurity to heights of fame, fortune and celebrity—sometimes instantly. This is a common archetype in literature and popul ...

tale with

Oprah Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...

's audience".Briggs, Margaret L.
Taking the Heat

Archive
. ''

''. 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 it ...

'' 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 cap ...

. 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 diplomafrom 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 A visa (from the Latin ''charta visa'', meaning "paper that has been seen") is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on t ...

. On arrival, he had fewer than $50 ($ according to inflation) in cash. That year he began studying at

South Texas Junior College South Texas Junior College (STJC) was a junior college located in Houston, Texas ( USA). The YMCA opened STJC in 1948 and operated the two-year coeducational liberal arts school; no tax money supported the school. The YMCA pioneered the con ...

.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 In North America, a busser, more commonly known as a busboy or busgirl, is a person who works in the restaurant and catering industry clearing tables, taking dirty dishes to the dishwasher, setting tables, refilling and otherwise assisting the ...

. 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 News ...

''. 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 i ...

, Record Number 01*22*1032262. Available at the

Houston Public Library Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. History Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston Lyceum in 18 ...

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 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 List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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 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 Pricewaterh ...

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 A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican cuisine, Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn tortilla, corn- or Flour tortilla, wheat-based tortilla topped with a Stuffing, filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and fing ...

. 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 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 ...

, which is the parent of Stop N Go. 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

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, wheth ...

bankruptcy. By September 1999 five Billy Blue's restaurants closed. By 1999, Bombaywala appeared on the

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

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 th ...

, 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, whe ...

. 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 commercial ...

, 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, w ...

member M.J. Khan. 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 and ...

, 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, Man ...

of Texas, the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

Gulf Coast Chapter, the

Houston Food Bank The Houston Food Bank (HFB) is a non-profit organization and the nation's largest food bank by distribution; providing access to 207 million nutritious meals in 18 counties in southeast Texas. The food bank's operations are made possible through a ...

, 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 youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

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 Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. He planned to vote for

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

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 executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

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)