"When I first came to Moscow, McDonald's had a complete monopoly of the fast-food business," said Rathore, 42, who now lives alternately in Moscow and suburban Chicago.
Two years ago Rathore opened Burger Queen, a fast-food restaurant located on Suvorovsky Bulvar near Novy Arbat. Three months ago, he started a monopoly of his own by opening Ravi's Palace, Moscow's first Pakistani restaurant. And, by the end of next year, Rathore hopes to have five more Burger Queens in operation.
Rathore, who is the president of the Chicago-based Hotel Management Corporation, said he first came to Moscow on a fact-finding mission 2 1/2 years ago to investigate the possibility of opening a hotel in the Russian capital.
"I had no contacts at all when I first came here," said Rathore, who speaks his native Urdu, English with a mild British accent and has picked up Russian. "I simply booked a hotel room, got an interpreter, and flew to Moscow."
After determining that it would be too risky and expensive to open a hotel, Rathore said he decided to enter the Russian market on a smaller scale and start a restaurant. Though his company operates 12 restaurants in the United States, he said he had never before run a fast-food establishment.
"We approached the owner of a locksmith shop near the Arbat and offered to renovate his store if he would give us some space on the premises to open a fast-food burger restaurant," said Rathore, whose wife and four children have remained in the United States.
According to Rathore, Burger Queen has been very profitable.
Rathore says it was then Pakistani ambassador to Moscow Ashraf Jehangir Qazi who convinced him a year ago to open Ravi's Palace. "He said that since I was Pakistani by birth and know the culture, I should open a Pakistani restaurant in town."
Importing virtually all ingredients from Pakistan and employing a staff of 11 Pakistani cooks, Ravi's Palace features live traditional music and serves a variety of meat and vegetable dishes moderately priced by Moscow standards. According to Rathore, Pakistani food is a close cousin of Indian cuisine, though more meaty and less spicy.
Rathore says Ravi's Palace, located in the Krasnopresnenskaya Banya just under the facility's pool, has benefited from its location inside one of Moscow's most prestigious bath complexes.
"People who come to the banya want to relax, and they often want a good meal to go along with that," he said.
In the process of setting up his two restaurants, Rathore says there were moments when he was ready to give up. Simple procedures in the United States like getting cooking gas took months of negotiating, he recalled.
"There was a real sense of intrigue on the part of the Russians," said Rathore. "They would ask, 'You are successful in your own country, why do you want to come here?' But we said this was the new frontier and that we are bringing something unique to this country."
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.