At the age of 45, when most people are settling into the comfort of established routines, Nadir Gilani made a life-changing decision. He left behind a thriving business in India, a source of stability and pride, to move to Canada for his children’s future.
“I told my children, ‘Why don’t you go to a foreign university? Take education there,’” Gilani recalled, as he valued education more than money. All three of his children were deeply family-oriented and didn’t want to leave him and their mother behind, prompting Gilani to make the bold decision to move the entire family for a better future.
From an early age, Gilani displayed an innate knack for business.
“Businessmen are born, not made,” he said.
While business skills can be learned, he believes that true success in business requires an inherent talent. A quote from Chinese businessman Jack Ma once inspired him deeply:
“’If you put bananas and money in front of monkeys, monkeys will choose bananas because they don’t know that money can buy many bananas.’ Similarly, if you offer jobs and business opportunities to people, most would choose jobs because they don’t realize the potential of business to bring greater wealth.”
This philosophy fuelled Gilani’s passion for entrepreneurship and drove him to build a diverse portfolio of businesses in India. These ranged from establishing one of the first English video libraries to running a boutique and eventually building a successful construction company.
Despite his later success, Gilani’s early life was marked by hardship. According to his daughter, Naghma, her father’s story is a true rags-to-riches tale. He grew up in extreme poverty, at times even sleeping on the streets.
Adopted into a family primarily to serve as labour, Gilani resolved early in life to rise above his circumstances. “He knew he wanted to do something in his life,” Naghma said. After having three children, he became even more determined. “I don’t care what it takes, but I’m going to make sure I get out of this rut and give my kids a good life,” Naghma said he told himself.
This mindset shaped not only his journey but also the family’s approach to business. “We’ve seen the work my dad put into building what we have today, and because of that, all our decisions are very conservative,” Naghma explained. “Even as we grow in business, we don’t take as much risk as a normal business family would. We don’t want to jeopardize everything he worked for.”
In the summer of 1995, Gilani and his family migrated to Canada, leaving behind a fortune of $6 million in India. He recalled being culturally shocked by Canada’s highly regulated systems. “It was very different from India,” he remembered.
Among the challenges he faced, understanding the Canadian accent proved particularly difficult. “I was not educated here, thus, I was finding it difficult to understand,” he said.
While he had considered other options, including the United States and European countries, he chose Canada for its peaceful environment. Another factor was his uncle, who was already settled there, though this connection ultimately proved less helpful than expected.
Because of his age, the only way to secure immigration was by committing to establishing a business within two years. Someone offered him a dry-cleaning depot in North York, and that became his first business in Canada. For the next year and a half, he dedicated himself to learning its intricacies.
The dry-cleaning business also gave him one of the most important lessons of his life: the necessity of thorough research before any business acquisition. He discovered that the seller had cheated him by charging double the depot’s actual value.
After obtaining his permanent residency, Gilani began searching for a more stable and reliable business that could withstand economic ups and downs. “At that time, all petty businesses like grocery stores and dry-cleaning depots were there,” he said.
He didn’t want another small business, nor did he want to manage something as large as his construction business in India. He sought a venture that wouldn’t tie him down to a store all day and could thrive under any conditions.
“I researched and found that the food business is the only business which is recession-proof,” he recalled. That realization led him to explore opportunities in the food industry.
In Canada and America, he noted, the burger business mirrored the street food culture of India. Confident in its universal appeal, he began researching franchises.
“Any store you start on your own, statistically, can never be successful,” said Gilani, explaining why he decided to buy a franchise rather than open a new store. At the same time, in 1996, A&W was expanding its franchise operations.
“Any franchise business like Tim Hortons, McDonald’s and A&W—they have been around for decades and are still growing,” he added.
In 1997, Gilani bought his first store, which was also one of the initial A&W franchises. It was a joyful milestone for him in Canada, but this success was overshadowed by devastating news from India. His trusted business partner had betrayed him, leading to the overnight loss of his $6 million in life savings and his construction business.
“He was like God to me, hence I blindly trusted him with all my life savings and business,” he said.
Explaining the lesson he learned from this experience, he said, “You should not put all your eggs in one basket.”
Alongside his A&W store, he fulfilled a personal dream by opening Baroli Café in Eaton Centre. “That was only my fantasy,” he said with a smile. The café operated successfully for a decade until the lease wasn’t renewed.
Meanwhile, the A&W business grew steadily. In 2003, Gilani’s son Rahim joined the business and eventually took over operations. Though Gilani officially retired, he continued advising both his son and his nephew and business partner, Sohail Khoja, who acquired a 20 per cent partnership in 2010.
His Canadian business experience broadened his perspective. “Whatever business I did in India, I thought that was big business. But when I came here and looked for similar opportunities in construction, I realized those businesses were beyond our capacity.”
This realization drove him to focus on scalable ventures, a strategy that paid off. Today, the family owns six A&W stores, with three more set to open by January 2025.
Rahim emphasized his father’s perseverance and resilience. “The fact that he’s been able to become a successful businessman again, starting at the age of 45, also speaks to the kind of person he is,” he said.
For Nadir Gilani, success isn’t measured by square footage or bank balances but by the integrity of your journey and the lives you uplift along the way.
Rahim, described him as “an exceptional bag of wealth and experience,” emphasizing the unique lessons he offers from both business and life.
While for Khoja, Gilani is a guiding force—a godfather figure whose wisdom has shaped his career.
This wisdom is perhaps best captured in Gilani’s own reflection on his decades-long entrepreneurial journey:
“I have done many different types of businesses in India and continued my entrepreneurial journey here, but the bottom line remains the same, maintain ethics in your business if you want it to grow and last.”