Mohammed "Mike" Burkett

(News story) Mohammed "Mike" Burkett, a founder at age 20 of a local restaurant-equipment business that has become an industry powerhouse, died March 29 in his West Toledo home. He was 63.

He had respiratory failure, his son Jameel said, which was a complication of the multiple sclerosis with which Mr. Burkett dealt for 34 years.

"The resilience, 'nothing is going to hold me down,' a positive outlook kept him going," said his son, who is president and chief executive of Burkett Restaurant Equipment & Supplies. "He was in a wheelchair when he was 39 years old."

Mr. Burkett had retired as chairman before his death. The firm in a statement said: "Those of us who had the opportunity to work under him will remember his exceptional work ethic, diligence in investing every dollar back into the business, commitment to his customers, suppliers, employees, and family, and his unwavering desire to help local business owners achieve their dreams through equipment deals, coaching, and education."

He started the business in 1977 with his father, also named Jameel, by refurbishing and reselling used restaurant equipment.

"My father's always had the entrepreneurial mind-set," his son said. "A lot of the family was in the restaurant business. With Toledo having the highest number of restaurants per capita for the longest time, [the company] found a niche where there weren't many options for affordable restaurant equipment. The idea turned into something awesome, and he built on it."

Greg Oplinger, who as a manufacturer's representative dealt with the firm for 26 years, said the Burketts have been "some of the best people I've ever known in the industry.

"I was like 24 years old. Mike was the first guy who really gave me a chance," said Mr. Oplinger, partner and owner of an Akron-based foodservice equipment supplier. "Mike was a tough business person. Very tough. Mike was willing to give the young up and coming people a shot when others wouldn't."

The firm for years operated out of a 178,000-square-foot warehouse and showroom on Council Street in central Toledo behind Swayne Field and visible from I-75.

Most customers initially were in northern Ohio and southeast Michigan. He gave his son, who joined in 2002, license to make changes - and getting Burkett onto the internet ranked among the first.

Sales mushroomed, and soon California was its biggest market. Burkett has been on several Inc. magazine lists of the 5,000 fastest-growing firms in America. The warehouse, offices, and showroom were relocated to Perrysburg Township several years ago.

Through the changes, "we worked together hand-in-hand," his son said. "He was heavily involved in the decision making, and I relied heavily on him for advice."

Born Oct. 7, 1957, in Toledo to Lorice and Jameel Burkett, Mr. Burkett was a graduate of Woodward High School. He was a member of the Sultan Club, made of Toledo-area residents with ties to Sultan Yacoub, Lebanon - his father's birthplace.

Surviving are his wife, Aicha; sons, Jameel, Ali, and Ziad; daughters, Hanady Awada and Fatin Rochon; sister, Freda McDougal, and eight grandchildren.

Services were at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo in Perrysburg, where he was a member. The family suggests tributes to the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo's food bank.

This is a news story by Mark Zaborney. Contact him at mzaborney@theblade.com.