| George Mardikian | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 7, 1903 Bayburt, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | October 23, 1977 San Francisco, California, USA |
| Nationality | Armenian |
| Political party | Republican Party (United States) |
| Religion | Armenian Apostolic Church |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Armenia |
| Service/branch | Armenian volunteer units |
| Years of service | 1915-1920 |
| Rank | Private |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
George Magar Mardikian (November 7, 1903 – October 23, 1977) was an Armenian-American restauranteur, chef, author and philanthropist who opened the well-known Omar Khayyam’s restaurant in San Francisco, California in 1938. He is the nephew of Armenian Revolutionary Krikor Amirian.
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George Mardikian was born on November 7, 1903 in Bayburt, Armenia to Magar Mardikian (father) and Haiganoush Amirian (mother).[1] Mardikian grew up in the city of Sucrati, which was an Armenian community in Istanbul. Mardikian father’s family was a family of warriors. The reason why there name was Mardikian, was because ‘’Mardik’’ in Armenian means warrior and the Mardikian family and their descendants were warriors. On the other hand, Mardikian’s mother’s family, the Amirians, was a very influential and powerful family in Bayburt. Mardikian’s mother was also the eldest sibling of Mardikian’s idol, Krikor Amirian.
As a child, Mardikian was very chubby. His nickname in the Armenian community was ‘’shisko’’ which is Armenian for chubby. As the Ottoman Empire was thrusted into the First World War in 1914, the Armenians faced their own war at home. On April 24, 1915, 250 intellects and community leaders were arrested and executed. Mardikian’s father, Magar, was one of the 250 that was arrested that day. After his arrest, Mardikian’s mother’s family, the Amirians, were driven out of their homes and marched to Erzincan. Mardikian’s maternal grandmother, Vartanoush Amirian, committed suicide by jumping in the Euphrates River, while the rest of the Amirian family was either beaten to death or burned alive. Witnessing the massacre of his maternal side of his family, Mardikian wanted to avenge there deaths and prove to his mother how much of a true genetic warrior he was. Because of his ambition, Mardikian ran away from his home and joined the Armenian Volunteer Unit, which his uncle, Krikor Amirian, was a high ranking member in. Mardikian traveled all across the Ottoman Empire with his assigned unit in an attempt to overthrow the Ottoman regime from no longer controlling Armenia. After the end of World War I, Mardikian returned to his mother as a war hero.
In the summer of 1920, Mardikian worked with Captain Eddie Fox and George D. White of the Near East Relief organization to create an Armenian boy-scout unit. It would be a short lived accomplishment, since war broke between Armenia, Turkey, and Russia. Mardikian called on his fellow youths to continue the fight for freedom. When Mardikian returned to the battlefield, he was quickly captured and thrown in prison. Mardikian served his term in prison in a sauerkraut factory. Even though it was a useless activity, the Turkish guards forced the Armenian prisoners to chop ice. After serving two years in prison, luck had struck Mardikian. George D. White, who Mardikian met a couple of years earlier, had told the Turkish prison commandant that Mardikian was an American and demanded his freedom. .[2] Mardikian eventually gained his freedom and returned to his mother and his surviving family members in Sucrati. Haiganoush (Mardikian’s mother) and Krikor Amirian, (Mardikian’s uncle) advised him that he must go to the United States like his older sister Baidzar. Within a couple of days, Mardikian left Sucrati.
One hour after Mardikian’s ship left the port of Sucrati, Turkish police knocked on Haiganoush’s door demanding that they reveal the location of Mardikian. The reason for this was that Mardikian stated he was a Near East Relif worker, which led to his freedom from prison. Haiganoush stated that her son had left this world and had entered a new one. Nonetheless, the Turkish police ransacked the home and finally, assuming that he had died.
On July 24, 1922, Mardikian arrived on Ellis Island, New York. Mardikian (like every other immigrant) went through all the steps in order to gain access into the country. When he was able to take a shower, Mardikian stated “I washed away the grime, I washed away the years. I washed away the Old World, I washed away all the hatred and injustice and cruelty I had known, all the hunger, all the weeping, all the pain’’ He later stated, “As I dried myself with the thick, heavy towel, and saw my clean skin and felt my blood tingle, it was as though I had been reborn, as though I were a completely new human being, a taller, a stronger, prouder man-an American”. Since that day, Mardikian had said that July 24 is his birthday.
For his first goal as a new man, Mardikian had wanted to deliver lokoum (Turkish Candy) to General Sebouh Nersesian. Because he was short on money, Mardikian was never able to accomplish this dream.
Within eight days, Mardikian landed in San Francisco. Through his entire train ride, Mardikian only ate was potato salad (for that was all he could read in English), Mardikian vowed to one day open a restaurant of his own. After arriving in San Francisco, Mardikian got a job working as a dishwasher at Coffee Dan’s and later at Clinton’s Cafeteria. He was later appointed by Eugene Compton as his restaurant manager.
In 1930, he moved to Fresno, CA where he joined the vibrant Armenian immigrant community. He opened a lunch counter called Omar Khayyam’s after the famous Persian poet at 1129 Van Ness Avenue. Despite the on-going Depression, customers filled his diner to enjoy his clam chowder, chili con carne, and pot roast. As he frequently noted, his dream was to teach Americans how to eat well.
He would later move his restaurant to two other large buildings in Fresno and then to the old Coffee Dan’s building in San Francisco in 1938, where he earned praise from critic and local alike.[3]
In 1935, Mardikian arranged the arrival of his mother from Bucharest, Romania, where she lived with her brother, Krikor Amirian. It would be a short-lived life that Haiganoush (Mardikian’s mother) would have in the United States. In February 1936, Haiganoush contracted pneumonia while in surgery. She died a couple of days later. She was eventually buried at Ararat Cemetery in Fresno.
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). Mardikian would receive presidential commendations for the drastic changes that he made to the United States Military. In 1944, he published a cook book, Dinner at Omar Khayyam's, that was reprinted numerous times over the next two decades.
In 1945, he donated his services as caterer for the United Nations Conference on International Organization that was held in San Francisco and established the United Nations. Even though Mardikian had a very nice life in the United States, he would get depressed from time to time, over the reason that he missed his uncle, Krikor Amirian.
After the end of World War II, Mardikian feared that his uncle, Krikor, may have been killed. From this fear, Mardikian attempted to find him. In late 1945, Mardikian was able to find his uncle. In order to ensure that he reunited with his uncle and family, Mardikian instructed the local Allied General to shelter them. Mardikian helped his family escape to Austria and then finally into Italy. Mardikian’s reunion with his uncle and his family turned into an emotional event.
Other than find his long lost family, Mardikian would travel across the world trying to convince Armenians to moving to the United States. He would travel to Over 5,000 Armenians moved to the United States because of him and his efforts.
In 1951, Mardikian was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Harry S. Truman for his work as a consultant to the Quartermaster General of the United States Army. A portion of the citation reads, "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."[4] He would go on to write and contribute to entrepreneurial and philanthropic causes including the American National Committee to Aid Homeless Armenians (ANCHA). Later that year, Mardikian would appoint Krikor Amirian (Mardikian’s uncle) as his chief Armenian typist and Soghomon Tehlirian as his assistant.
In 1956, Mardikian published his memories, Song of America. An excerpt from this book is quoted on a wall plaque in the entrance hall to the American Adventure Pavilion at Disney's Epcot Center.[5] Mardikian would also help republican candidates all over the country. Mardikian also starred in the show, This is Your Life.
George Mardikian died on October 23, 1977.
George Mardikian's 'Omar Khayyam's' was located at 200 Powell Street in San Francisco in the basement of a building on the northeast corner of Powell Street and O'Farrell Street. The entrance was off O'Farrell Street.[6] After passing photographs of Mardikian "breaking bread" with various notable people (including Dwight Eisenhower and Eleanor Roosevelt),[7] diners would descend into the cavernous, sumptuously-decorated restaurant below.
On the left at the bottom of the stairs was the Rubaiyat lounge with velvet banquettes, low Persian lamps, and a gleaming chrome cash register. Tables in the restaurant were contained in curtained chambers out of the Arabian Nights decorated with wall-hangings and inscriptions from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Mardikian would customarily "break bread" (a special flat bread served at the restaurant) with his diners as a sign of hospitality.
The menu was exotic (for the time), featuring a mix of Middle Eastern, African and European cooking adapted for American palates.[8]
In the mid-1980s, Mardikian’s dream was crushed after a fire destroyed the restaurant.
[A link with a matchbook from Omar Khayyam's: http://www.mikehumbert.com/Mike_Humbert-s_Idiosyncratic_Guide_09a.html]
Short radio episode Potato Salad by the California Legacy Project.