Q's Deli owner Muhammad Ali Qureshi said he learned perseverance and hard work from his father, who immigrated to Houston from Pakistan in 1982.

The backstory

In 1987, the year Qureshi was born, his father took ownership of a deli shop in the Sharpstown area.

“My whole life as a kid was in that store,” Qureshi said. “Summers, weekends, birthday parties, everything was in that store. So I grew up in a deli and was always around it.”

His father would go on to open a deli inside an office building for many years, but the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the office and shop, Qureshi said.


Then he fell upon the space that would become Q’s Deli in Sugar Land, giving his family the opportunity to pivot, he said. He opened Q’s Deli in September 2022, with its most popular items including Q's Best cold cut sandwich, the hot Reuben sandwich and the “Q” Stack burger.

“I came up with the first fully halal American-style deli in the United States,” Qureshi claims.
The name of the sandwich shop represents Qureshi and everything he learned from his father, who now works with him at Q's Deli. (Asia Armour/Community Impact)
What’s in a name?

The name of the sandwich shop is coined from the owner's nickname. It also pays homage to his dad—who set an example for him growing up and built the bridge for him to open his own deli shop, Qureshi said.
Q's Best cold cut sandwich is an homage to "Baba Q." It's made with turkey, roast beef, beef salami and crispy beef bacon. (Asia Armour/Community Impact)
Qureshi said he also considers Q’s to be an “umbrella name” for any future business ventures.

“I would love to do more halal concepts that don't exist: Q’s Tex-Mex, Q’s Pizzeria” he said. “Q’s Barbershop one day, Q’s Sneaker Shop.”


Qureshi and his father work at Q’s Deli together, and he still learns from him every day, he said.

“He's told me one thing that really sticks with me—you have to sit on it,” Qureshi said. “You have to be patient, you have to be understanding ... that whatever is yours will come to you as long as you work hard.”