New Owners For Southside Pakistani Restaurant
Anmol is changing hands after nearly 20 years on Historic Mitchell Street.
Sasta Bazaar and Anmol, 709-713 W. Historic Mitchell St. Photo taken June 14th, 2018 by Carl Baehr.
During his first meal at Anmol years ago, Haq Nawaz was transported to Pakistan. The restaurant’s curries, biryani and roti are all staples in Karachi, the country’s largest city—and favorites for Nawaz, who returned time and again with his growing family.
Soon, Anmol will do more than taste like home—it’ll be home. Nawaz and his wife, Shamim, are buying the restaurant, which has operated at 711 W. Historic Mitchell St. since 2006, and its adjacent grocery store, Sasta Bazaar, with plans to officially take over both businesses later this month.
The venture is an ideal launch point for the couple, whose time is limited by four children. “We don’t have the energy to start something from scratch,” Nawaz said. “We were looking for something that was already established, and this is where it led. I happened to show up at the right time.”
Though initial changes will be minimal—limited to title modifications and cosmetic updates—Nawaz hopes to deepen the business’s neighborhood focus and prioritize community over profit, an approach already in action at the couple’s existing store, Raja Bazaar Brookfield.
“I realize how much appreciation we have in Brookfield,” he said. “It’s a really small store … but many times there’s a line that goes outside the door.”
A former Frito-Lay employee, Nawaz studied business at the UW-Milwaukee, graduating in 2024. “It took me nine years to do that, but I did it,” he said. “I learned that business, society, people—they go together. My vision is to service people, to make sure they leave happy.”
Under its new ownership, Anmol will be renamed Karachi Restaurant and Sasta Bazaar will become Raja Bazaar Milwaukee.
Longtime staff members are expected to stay on board throughout the transition, and the restaurant’s menu will remain unchanged for at least six months; however, Nawaz said he will eventually make updates at employees’ request.
The current menu is fully halal, featuring starters like samosa and pakora, along with entrees such as chana masala, kebab wraps, biryani and a wide variety of curries. The restaurant also serves yogurt-based lassi drinks and desserts including carrot halwa and gulab jamun.
Nawaz said his focus is never on pricing. Instead, he seeks success through meaningful improvements, such as keeping the sidewalk free of litter, negotiating prices when necessary and helping customers beyond business transactions.
He recalled a time when Shamim, then pregnant, struggled to lift a large bag of rice and no one stepped in to help. “That’s not good.” said Nawaz, adding that the experience inspired the couple’s own journey into entrepreneurship. “We need to do something where we help people rather than look for their business or money.”
Mohammad Ashraf Patel, who founded Anmol in 2006, remains at the helm of the business today, but will likely retire once the new owners take over. He owns the southside building, 709-713 W. Historic Mitchell St., through Anmol Investment, LLC.
The restaurant’s current hours of operation are Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Those hours are expected to change. A license application for Karachi Restaurant, proposed to operate daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., is pending before the Milwaukee Common Council. Nawaz aims to officially take over the restaurant and store on Jan. 15.
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