Founder of Leicester’s first vegetarian curry house, Bhagwanji Lakhani passed away a few days ahead of his 90th birthday. One of the top Indians in the UK, he opened Bobby's on Belgrave Road in 1976, four years after he arrived in the country having been thrown out of Uganda by then dictator Idi Amin. Despite a lack of experience in the industry, he turned his restaurant into a success that continues to thrive after him.
“He decided that Leicester needed a vegetarian Indian restaurant and he named it after Bobby, a big Bollywood film at the time. My mother said to him, 'You don't know much about restaurants, you don't even go out to eat.' But he replied that a lot of Asians were coming to Leicester and it was a gap in the market,” his son Dharmesh said. “He worked at Bobby's until well into his 80s. He would always be saying to me I should take a day off and take my kids out and let him run the restaurant. He was an amazing man and a very special dad to me and my five siblings as well as being something of a pillar of the community here. He was always there for all of us and never said no to anything.”
Lakhani died in his family home in Syston. Dharmesh added, “We all said our goodbyes and we sang his favourite songs from Bollywood films together. It bought him great peace.”
Several Leicester residents expressed grief and paid tributes to Lakhani's life and work. Prominent businessman Jaffer Kapasi said, “He won many awards for the quality of food served and for service with a smile. He was a refugee like me from Uganda. Bhagwanji Kaka was involved in a number of charities, sponsored food at several temples and other organisations. He contributed to the success of the Golden Mile and will be sorely missed not only by his family but customers and the business world of Leicester.”
