Alexander "Alex" Abraham Azar

Alexander ‘Alex’ Abraham Azar, passed away peacefully at his home in Fort Wayne, IN December 17, 2020 at age 97. Born February 16, 1923 at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne to Syrian immigrant parents, Abraham and Ruth Azar. Alex attended South Side High School and Indiana University. He graduated in three years with a business degree and promptly joined the Army to serve the country during World War II. Throughout his life he remained a passionate Hoosier basketball fan and attended every South Side reunion and gathering until his health no longer permitted. He was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church. Alex first met his beloved wife Norma at a Syrian dance in Toledo, Ohio in the spring of 1946. For him it was ‘love at first sight’. They married on November 9, 1946 and started a family together soon thereafter. In 1945 with money borrowed from their mother Ruth, Alex and his brother David opened a grocery store on Spy Run Blvd. in Fort Wayne. It was a business Alex knew well from his days moonlighting at the A&P during college. Alex oversaw produce and Dave was the butcher and together they made a living, but it was not the business that would capture Alex’s imagination. Albert Azar, oldest brother to Alex, knew of his younger brother’s frustration and encouraged him to come to Cincinnati, OH to see a local restaurant that was doing a land office business. The year was 1953 and that restaurant was Frisch’s Mainliner Big Boy. Upon seeing the throngs of people crowding the restaurant Alex knew immediately that this was his future. Shortly thereafter, he bought a franchise from Frisch’s and within a year opened his first Azar’s Big Boy Drive-In on W. Jefferson Blvd. in Fort Wayne. Business started out with a whimper rather than a bang until Alex hired the well-known WANE TV weatherman Bill Foster to eat a Big Boy sandwich live during his broadcast. Virtually immediately a line of cars formed on W. Jefferson Blvd. from the restaurant all the way to Sweeney Park. At long last Alex had found the business that could satisfy his ambitious nature and there was no looking back. With the help of his brothers, David and George, Alex could not expand his thriving business fast enough and soon Azar’s became a household name in Fort Wayne, northern Indiana and Colorado. In addition to his burgeoning restaurant chain, Alex’s entrepreneurial zeal led to the development of innovative and ground-breaking concepts such as Captain Alexander’s Moonraker, Captain Alexander’s Wharf and Roby’s Roast Beef, which the Marriott Corporation acquired and renamed Roy Roger’s. In the 1970’s Alex also bought Frank Gardner’s Char-King restaurants and Clete Miller’s Back 40 Junction in Decatur, IN resulting in Azar’s becoming one of the largest restaurant operators in the Midwest. Always hungering for greater challenge, Alex then turned his attention to the hotel business becoming the first franchisee of the Marriott family in 1968 with the opening of the Fort Wayne Marriott Inn. He proceeded to open several more Marriott Hotels throughout the Midwest contributing to Marriott’s success in expanding their hotel brand around the world. Despite all of his achievements, awards and accolades, Alex remained a man of simple tastes and humble needs. He always looked forward to spring and summertime when he could plant his garden and eat freshly picked corn on the cob, home grown tomatoes and watermelon. And he especially loved meeting with his buddies every morning at Manny’s over coffee to share stories and a good laugh. Those of us that were blessed to know him, while mourning his loss, are comforted in the knowledge that his life truly, was a ‘Life Well Lived’. He is survived by his children, Laura (Jerome) Meers of Bonita Springs, FL, Linda Azar of Reno, NV, and George (Lorena Pinzon) Azar of Fort Wayne, IN; grandchildren Jason (Stephanie) Adams and Sumitra Azar. In addition to his parents and siblings, he was preceded in death by his wife Norma (Abraham) Azar. A Celebration of his life will be held at a later date. Donations can be made to the Community Harvest Food Bank. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.klaehnfahlmeltonfunerals.com for the Azar family.