Zarif Khan

Zarif Khan
Born	Bara, North-West Frontier Province, British India
Died	Bara, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan
Nationality	American
Other names	Tamale Louie
Occupation	Investor, restaurant owner

Zarif Khan (also known as Hot Tamale Louie; died 1964) was a Pashtun American restaurant owner and investor. He operated a restaurant, Louie's in Sheridan, Wyoming, which served tamales, hamburgers, and other dishes.^[1] Khan was apprentice to the original owner, a German immigrant named Louis Menge, and kept the restaurant's name after Menge became a farmer in Montana.

Born in the 1880s in the village of Bara, North-West Frontier Province, British India (now in Pakistan), Khan immigrated from colonial India to the United States in 1907 and eventually settled in Sheridan. He purchased the restaurant from a German immigrant named Louis Menge, and kept the restaurant's name, "Louie’s". The restaurant prospered and Khan became known as "Hot Tamale Louie".^[2]

Khan became a naturalized citizen of the United States in February 1926, but in December he was found racially ineligible (in accordance with United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind) and denaturalized. In 1954, Khan was re-granted citizenship following a second application.^[2]

In 1964, while on a family trip back to Bara, Khan was fatally stabbed by his grandnephew, Sultan Khan, over a dispute. Sultan was tried, found guilty and hanged in 1966.^[2] Khan was buried in Bara, while his wife Fatima returned to Sheridan and raised her children there.^[1]

Khan's wife sued for a larger portion of his estate after his death.^[3] Descendants of Khan still live in Wyoming.^[4]

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