Published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday, May 10^th 2009

 

  

 

Groundbreaking restaurateur, architect and builder, artist, beloved husband and father, died April 12^th 2009, at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley, age 75.

 

Born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1933, Mr. Nusratty was part of the first wave of Afghans who came to the United States in the 1950’s to study abroad. Before leaving Kabul for the US, he was a shining example of the country’s best and most promising, having already achieved success as a young entrepreneur, opening the country’s first ever members-only sports club in the affluent Shahr-e Naw district of Kabul as well as successfully collecting and trading in rare antique Afghan stamps.

 

His decision to study Architecture at the University of California at Berkeley over Cornell and Johns Hopkins brought him to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1955 where a small but growing number of young Afghan expatriates had gathered as students. Later, the invasion of his country by the Soviet Union in December 1979 sparked the beginning of the Afghan Diaspora. The Afghan community in the San Francisco Bay Area would continue to grow, eventually becoming the largest in the US.

 

Mr. Nusratty opened the Khyber Pass Restaurant in 1968 in Oakland in partnership with his wife Kathryn. It was the first Afghan restaurant in the United States, exposing a generation of Americans to the cuisine and culture of Afghanistan and Central Asia. The restaurant was meticulously designed, built and decorated by Mr. Nusratty himself and word-of-mouth quickly spread. The restaurant was reviewed in several major national restaurant magazines and grew to be extremely successful. Through its success, Mr. Nusratty opened the door to many Afghans seeking shelter from the political upheaval of their war-torn country during the 1970’s and 80’s, providing jobs and guidance upon their arrival in California.

 

With the tragic events of September 11^th 2001, Mr. Nusratty was finally able to visit Afghanistan after 48 years with his family in August 2003. Saddened by the destruction of his country and the destitution of its people, he was still hopeful for the future. He returned to Afghanistan with his wife every year until 2007.

 

Mr. Nusratty was a man of the highest morality and humanity. He looked out for those less fortunate and gave generously to the homeless. He was a man founded on spiritual principles and was the personification of patience and kindness. He also possessed great personal strength and courage. There was no better example than in how he faced and fought his leukemia, diagnosed in late 1996, and more recently colorectal cancer in early 2003, which he eventually succumbed to after a valiant six-year battle.

 

Mohammed Hasan Nusratty will be deeply missed. He was laid to rest on April 14^th at the Chapel of the Chimes Memorial Park in Hayward and is survived by his loving wife, Kathryn; their three children, Khorshied, Dawoud and Timur; son-in-law Omar; daughter-in-law Claudia; two grandchildren, Soleiman and Arman; a brother Husain and sister Hajara; as well as many nieces, nephews and friends spread throughout the world.