Zarif Khan (also known as Hot Tamale Louie; died 1964) was a Pakistani Pashtun American restaurant owner and investor. Khan operated a restaurant, Louie's in

Sheridan, Wyoming Sheridan is a town in the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Sheridan County. The town is located halfway between Yellowstone Park and Mount Rushmore by U.S. Route 14 and 16. It is the principal town of the Sheridan, Wyoming, Micropo ...

, which served

tamales A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tamale ...

, hamburgers, and other dishes. Khan was apprentice to the original owner, a German immigrant named Louis Menge, and kept the restaurant's name after Menge became a farmer in Montana.

Biography

Born in the 1880s in the village of Bara,

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followi ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

(now in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

), Khan immigrated from colonial India to the United States in 1907 and eventually settled in Sheridan. He purchased the restaurant from a German immigrant named Louis Menge, and kept the restaurant's name, "Louie’s". The restaurant prospered and Khan became known as "Hot Tamale Louie". Khan became a naturalized citizen of the United States in February 1926, but in December he was found racially ineligible (in accordance with '' United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind'') and

denaturalized Denaturalization is the loss of citizenship against the will of the person concerned. Denaturalization is often applied to ethnic minorities and political dissidents. Denaturalization can be a penalty for actions considered criminal by the state ...

. In 1954, Khan was re-granted citizenship following a second application. In 1964, while on a family trip back to Bara, Khan was fatally stabbed by his grandnephew, Sultan Khan, over a dispute. Sultan was tried, found guilty and hanged in 1966. Khan was buried in Bara, while his wife Fatima returned to Sheridan and raised her children there. Khan's wife sued for a larger portion of his estate after his death. Descendants of Khan still live in Wyoming.

References

1964 deaths Year of birth missing Indian emigrants to the United States People with acquired American citizenship People from Khyber District People from Sheridan, Wyoming {{Restaurateur-bio-stub