San Francisco
County
Biographies
GEORGE
MAGAR MARDIKIAN
George Maga Mardikian, owner of Omar
Khayyam’s Restaurant in San Francisco, was born in Papert,
Armenia, November 7, 1902, the son of Magar and Haiganoush (Amirian) Mardikian.
He received his education at Constantinople,
Turkey; came to the United States in 1922, and was naturalized in 1928.
Mr. Mardikian
was a restaurant worker in San Francisco, 1922-1928; steward on a
round-the-world cruise in 1928. He opened his first restaurant, Omar Khayyam’s,
in Fresno, California, in 1932 and his second restaurant (Omar Khayyam’s) in
San Francisco in 1938. He opened a chain of sandwich shops, called Chestnut
Tree, in 1940.
Mr. Mardikian
has had a weekly radio program since 1939; he is the president of station KEEN,
United Broadcasting Company, San Jose, California, 1947; he was Supervisor of
United Nations Commissary, San Francisco, in 1945.
Expert food
consultant to United States Army, Europe, in 1946, 1948 and 1951, issuing a
report on Army food to General Eisenhower upon return from tours in Japan and
Korea. In 1947 he organized the National Committee to Aid Homeless
Armenians (ANCHA). He served with the Armenian Army in the campaign against
Turkey, 1917,’20. He was awarded two War Department commendations by General
Mark Clark, Lt. General T. B. Larkins and Maj.
General George A. Horkan, Quartermaster General, for
work as an expert food consultant, March 1948. He also received the Medal of
Freedom.
He is a member at large of Boy
Scouts of America; San Francisco Opera Association; Save the Children
Federation; Armenian Gregorian Church; California Writers’ Club, Olympic Club
of San Francisco, Commonwealth Club of California, California Historical
Society and The Press Club of San Francisco.
Mr. Mardikian
is the author of “Dinner at Omar Khayyam’s (cookbook), 1944, and was a
contributor of articles to the Stars and Stripes, 1947.
He married Nazenig
Rusvanian on June 1, 1930. Their home is at 2960 Divisadero Street, San Francisco 8, California.
His offices are at 207 Powell
Street, San Francisco, California.
Transcribed By: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: “Eminent Californians 1953”,
by Lee E. Johnson & C. W. Taylor. Page 575, C. W. Taylor
Publ., Palo Alto, California, 1953.
© 2014 Cecelia M. Setty.
San Francisco County Biographies