George Mardikian (1903-1977) arrived as an immigrant to Ellis Island, New York, in 1922, leaving behind the violence and hunger he experienced in the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey).

The man who would become one of San Francisco’s best-known restaurateurs traveled by train to the City by the Bay and took a job as a dishwasher at Coffee Dan’s and then Clinton’s Cafeteria. Later, he worked as a manager and as a chef on cruise ships.

In 1930, he moved to Fresno with his wife Nazenig and opened a lunch counter, called Omar Khayyam’s after the famous Persian poet, offering American and Armenian food. He returned to San Francisco in 1938, taking over the Coffee Dan’s location at 200 Powell Street.

The basement location was dark and lavishly decorated. Cocktails were served in the Rubyaiyat Lounge with its Persian lamps and velvet banquettes. The restaurant was decorated ‘something out of Arabian nights,’ according to one reviewer.

The menu at Omar Khayyam’s heavily featured Armenian dishes – this would have been a novelty at the time.

In 1942, Mardikian was appointed as a food consultant to the Quartermaster General of the United States Army, a position that he would hold until 1954.  Readers' Digest magazine termed him ‘the champion of G I Chow,’ during WWII as he traveled to front lines, without regard for his safety, to prepare healthy food for servicemen and women.

He also donated his services as caterer to conferences held in San Francisco for the nascent United Nations.

President Truman awarded Mardikian the Medal of Freedom in 1951 for his services to the country. ’With vigorous energy, keen powers of observation and analysis and a dynamic personality, he enlisted the enthusiastic interest of commanders and soldiers alike in the preparation and service of food under varying conditions in the combat zone,’ read the citation.

After the war, Mardikian helped many displaced Armenian families come to the US.

You can find some of the many healthy recipes this culinary legend served at his famous restaurant in searches online or in old copies of Mardikian’s book Dinner at Omar Khayyam’s.