29 years ago when Musthaq Saleh Muhammed started out in business he possibly had no inkling that he would end up owning Sri Lanka’s largest independently-held chain of restaurants. What is most remarkable about Musthaq Muhammed is that he embarked into business without so much as a school education. When I asked him to which school he went, he genuinely looked puzzled and said that no, he never did go to school. He was not apologetic, sensing that I was perhaps expecting a Royal or Zahira answer, but I found the answer even more incredulous as I found out the amazing extent of his involvement in the restaurant business of this country.
He started out in the restaurant business when he and his brother Ashroff had already discovered success in their commodities business. They had no plans at all to diversify but amongst Musthaq’s’ leisure interests was dining out. He simply loved it and decided quite on the spur of the moment to open a restaurant. Read full story.