Feeding the Neighborhood

chander malik, 54, may be the only person who can say he's pursued careers in engineering, filmmaking and the restaurant business. malik moved to new york from new dehli, india, at age 20 to work as an engineer in brooklyn. but he ended up following his brother to the upper west side, moving into an apartment on west 103rd street and broadway.

he continued with engineering, then pursued filmmaking for several years before realizing that his true calling was the restaurant business. in 1986, he opened his first restaurant, indian café, which was an instant success.

"my model is always, if i can become a customer in my own restaurant and be happy, then the business is working," he said.

over the next two decades, malik opened six other latin american, indian, vegetarian, fish and fast-food restaurants in a 30-block span on the upper west side. he also opened suite, a bar on west 109th street and amsterdam avenue that previously catered to a gay crowd and is now a gay- and straight-friendly lounge.

malik approaches volunteer work with the same zeal.

"i think it's fun," he said. "the best performance one does is when one doesn't get paid."

the year that he opened up indian café, he began sponsoring west side little league baseball teams; he now sponsors six.

"they felt like they were playing for the yankees," he said, recalling a time when he treated the youngsters to a free lunch at the indian café. "it was very touching."

malik began volunteering with clean up and registration for the riverside clay tennis association in 2000. watching other volunteers rake leaves after a storm or work at the sign-up desk motivated him to pitch in. that sentiment applies at work, too, where he's been known to mop floors if employees need help (a great physical workout, he notes).

malik is generous with his money as well as time. over the past 10 years, he has donated $6,200 a year toward the maintenance of straus park, on west 106th street between broadway and west end avenue. last year, he contributed $30,000 to the broadway mall association, a nonprofit group that maintains green areas between west 60th and 168th streets.

"the volunteer spirit brings out the best in us," he said. "it's a beautiful spirit."

peter arndtsen, district manager of the columbus-amsterdam business improve-ment district, has worked with malik since 2004, when he began attending bid meetings. arndtsen described malik as a wonderful mentor for aspiring restaurateurs.

"he has a real drive to try out new things and make things happen," arndstsen said. "i think he sees himself as being successful, and he wants others to be successful as well."

malik treasures his neighborhood and is always coming up with ways to help the community.

"the upper west side is non-judgmental, forgiving and it welcomes everybody," he said. "it's a real melting pot. it's a total blend of everybody. as an outsider, i feel at home here."

-- indian café, 2791 broadway cafe con leche, 424 amsterdam ave. and 726 amsterdam ave. ayurveda cafe, 706 amsterdam ave. tamarind, 424 amsterdam ave. and 1679 third ave. suite bar and lounge, 992 amsterdam ave. bombay frankie roti roll, 994 amsterdam ave.