The GMVA would like to wish you and your family
all the best in 2010.
We are interested in your concerns and comments.
Please let us know what we should do to make Grogan's
Mill a more vibrant community. Send your comments
to: suggestions@gmva.org.
Pass It On: If you find this newsletter of value,
please pass it on to your friends and neighbors.
Brother's Pizza Restaurant
Owner Expected to Recover
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Manny' Bekiri, owner of Brother's Pizza
is at Memorial Hermann downtown. He is reported
as being in stable condition and is expected to
recover fully. Because his situation is involved
in a criminal investigation he is not available
to anyone outside his family. If you wish
to contact him, you can drop a note or card off
at the restaurant or leave a note on the Chronicle
web site. If you have not seen the story of
his attack--the first violent crime in the GM area
in years--the story is below.
Restaurant owner recovering
after robbery, shooting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By
Howard Roden
Updated: 01.04.10
THE
WOODLANDS - Montgomery County Sheriff's
deputies are still looking for a man who
robbed, and then shot, a popular restaurant
owner known for donating food to those
in need Sunday night.
Mukomer "Manny" Bekiri, 41,
was reported in stable condition at Memorial
Hermann Hospital - Texas Center in Houston
after he was shot in the abdomen by an
unknown assailant, MCSO Lt. Dan Norris
said.
Bekiri is owner of the Brothers Pizza
Express located at 2260 Buckthorne Place,
in the Grogan's Mill Village Center.
The aggravated robbery occurred about
9:30 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of
the Parkside Apartments in the 10600 block
of Six Pines Drive. Bekiri and Alicia
Leach, 39, were returning from a date
when they were approached by a man who
demanded their wallets, restaurant manager
R.T. Davis said.
Although Bekiri and Leach complied
with the request, the gunman shot Bekiri
once in the abdomen before fleeing through
the complex on foot with the wallets and
an undetermined amount of cash, according
to a Sheriff's Office press release.
The alleged robber is described as a thin,
black male in his early 20s, between 5
feet, 5 inches and 5 feet, 7 inches in
height. He wore a gray, hooded sweatshirt
and baggy pants at the time of the robbery,
the MCSO release stated.
Norris said Sheriff's Office investigators
believe the aggravated robbery was a random
act. At first Davis thought the alleged
gunman could have been someone with a
"familiar face" to Bekiri, but
Davis later said Bekiri did not know the
man.
Davis, who has worked at Brothers Pizza
the past 13 years, said it is not unusual
for Bekiri to donate food to people in
need.
"Manny sees so many faces during
the course of each workday," Davis
said. "He's got such a big heart.
He just keeps giving and giving and giving."
A member of the the South Montgomery County
Woodlands Chamber of Commerce, Bekiri
has been part of the family-owned pizza
business since it was founded by his uncle
Jimmy, who came to Houston in 1980 from
Brooklyn, New York.
The Grogan's Mill location has been
open for 11-1/2 years, Davis said.
Another six Brothers Pizza restaurants
are located throughout the Houston area,
including one in Sterling Ridge in The
Woodlands, and one in the Magnolia area.
Davis said the telephone at the Grogan's
Mill restaurant had been ringing non-stop
since the start of the business day Monday,
as regular customers have inquired about
Bekiri's condition.
Davis said Bekiri, a father of three,
is expected to make a full recovery.
Jim Cass is a regular customer of Brothers
Pizza who stopped by at lunchtime Monday
for a slice of custom-made pizza and an
update on Bekiri's condition.
"He's a good guy who's friendly
to everyone," Cass said, of Bekiri.
"He never turns anyone down. He's
provided kids with so many jobs down through
the years.
"Manny been's a big contributor
to the community for a long time,"
he said."
As most of you probably know Cynthia Woods Mitchell
died in her home on Wild Ginger, on December 27th.
Mrs. Mitchell was a significant contributor
to our readers way of life, including picking the
name for our community and enabling and funding many
of the cultural activities we enjoy around the community
and at the pavilion which is named for her. She will
be missed by her family, her devoted husband, and
the community that she helped develop.
If you would like more information on Cynthia,
please see her obituary
in The Houston Chronicle.
The Woodlands Township has a New Website
~~~~~~~~~~
As we transition from a home owner's association
to a new form of government, The Woodlands Township,
the way in which we get things done is changing.
The Township has set up a new web site where
residents can find out what is happening in the
community and how to request services for their
particular problems. The web site is http://www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov. We
suggest you look particularly at the sections for
"Residents" which allows you to
contact the TWT to get repairs to streetlights,
garbage problems, and the other things that generally
annoy residents. The web site is easy to follow
and we suggest you book mark it to become a better
participant in the community.
