Restaurateur who invented 'naan tree' dies aged 56

Shabir Hussain's death was announced by the Akbar's chain he founded on Wednesday

A businessman who founded a chain of curry restaurants and is said to have invented the 'hanging naan' has died aged 56.

Shabir Hussain founded Akbar's restaurant in Bradford in 1995, before later expanding to cities including Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow and Birmingham.

Following the announcement of his death, Akbar's said all its restaurants would be closed on Wednesday and Thursday as a result.

"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Shabir Hussain, founder of Akbar's Restaurant Group," the chain posted on social media.

"All restaurants will now be closed and will reopen on Friday at 17:00 BST.

"Please remember Shabir Hussain in your prayers. May Allah (SWT) grant him the highest rank in Jannah and bring peace and strength to his family during this difficult time."

In an interview earlier this year, Mr Hussain claimed to have invented a vertical metal stand with hooks to hold large naan breads as a business move.

Speaking to the CEO Club podcast, the restaurateur said: "I'm the guy who invented the naan tree - my biggest regret is I could have patented it.

"It's actually now used everywhere by everybody."

The naan tree, or hanging naan, is now a regular sight at curry restaurants

Mr Hussain went on to say he approached a metal worker friend and told him he wanted to serve large naan breads he had seen in Birmingham.

Serving side orders of that size would mean he would have to make his tables bigger, therefore reducing the number of covers at the restaurant.

"The idea was to build a heavy base so it doesn't fall over, bring it upwards and in the beginning there was only hooks on one side," he told the podcast.

"Now we put hooks on both sides so you can hang two naans on it."

He concluded: "Really it was a space-saver, I didn't know it would turn into a craze - people started coming to the restaurant just to see it."

Akbar's, which started in West Yorkshire in 1995, later opened restaurants across the UK

Fatima Patel, editor of the Asian Standard and a friend of Mr Hussain for two decades, described him as a "larger than life character".

"Beneath the tough exterior he liked to show, I found him to be a very generous and soft human being," she said.

"He revolutionised the curry industry when he went into it, he created lots of new ways to present curry, not just to the non-Asian community but to the Asian community as well."

Discussing his inventive way of presenting naan bread in his restaurants, she said: "It was a wow factor when you sat down for your curry and this giant naan arrived, and then obviously lots of other restaurants copied that concept.

"It was a remarkable vision he had, not just as someone who was able to produce amazing food, but that marketing and entrepreneurial spirit he just had a knack for."

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