Founded in 1938 by Armenian immigrant George Mardikian, Omar Khayyam's was an over-night success. Mardikian's goal had been to introduce Armenian food to the American public. Mardikian served dishes that previously never would have been found in American restaurants, including Shish Kabob, Tchakhokhbelli, and Kouzou Kzartma. He also cooked dishes moer often found in San Francisco's restaurants, including steaks, chops, Crab Louie, Ham, Turkey, and a much-loved Chicken Liver Saute. Celebrities flocked to the restaurant, and Mardikian became a major celebrity, first locally, and then nationally. William Saroyan, San Francisco's massive literary sensation of the 1930s, was a frequent diner, and at times friend of Mardikian's. San Francisco's most legendary columnist, Herb Caen, enjoyed many a meal at Omar Khayyam's. Eleanor Roosevelt dined at Omar Khayyam's, as did President Dwight D. Eisenhauer. The restaurant remained open through 1980, when a fire tore through, leading to the final closure, three years after Mardikian's death. From A Self-Guided Tour of Saroyan’s San Francisco by Dori Myer: "Omar Khayyam’s Middle Eastern restaurant was owned by George Mardikian, who featured prominently in William’s life. They first knew each other in Fresno, when Mardikian had a lunch counter. In 1938 Mardikian moved to San Francisco and opened his basement restaurant, which featured middle eastern and Armenian food. Mardikian was an evangelist for convincing Armenians to move to the United States and sponsored many of them financially. During some of William’s worst bouts of gambling, Mardikian lent him money. Though they had a long history together, theirs was a fraught friendship embroiled in money exchange. In the mid-1980s, a fire destroyed the restaurant. Saroyan talked up this restaurant in the book Let’s Have Fun in San Francisco from 1939, as well as in a preface to Mardikian’s cookbook (which Saroyan was not paid for, a sore spot to him)."