Hazel Park pizza maker remembered as kindhearted family man

HAZEL PARK — From feeding the homeless who wandered into his pizzeria to making sure his children had a better life growing up than he did, Walid Sabri Orow was a businessman with a sense of responsibility to others.

Known to many as “Wally,” he founded the pizza shop GrinderZ, at 22822 John R Road in Hazel Park, in the early 2000s. The Washington Township man died Dec. 23, 2025, after an incident where he collapsed unexpectedly days earlier. He was 62. 

Wally is survived by his wife, Vivian Orow, and their children Austin (Courtney) Orow, Max Orow and Ashley (Robert) Oraha, as well as his grandchild Rocky Orow.

Max recounted how his dad came to America from Iraq in 1972, at age 9 — old enough to have become accustomed to life in the Middle East, only to relearn everything in the United States. 

His family settled in Oak Park, and while attending Oak Park High School, Wally joined the wrestling squad and became a two-time all-state champion — a feat virtually unheard of for a foreign student at the time, Max said. Wally’s wrestling prowess was such that he earned a full-ride athletic scholarship to Michigan State University. 

But in a move that would become characteristic of the man, Wally put family first when his own father died, and it fell on him to provide for his family. Wally declined the scholarship and doubled down on family — tripled down, even, when his brother fell ill and he found himself caring for his brother’s family as well.

“His famous words were, ‘Life goes on,’” Max said of his father’s resilience. “No matter what the scenario is, the world keeps going and you keep going as well.”

Through it all, Wally would make forays into business that included a juice company he ran for roughly a half-decade. Then in 2000, while operating a kitchen at a party store in Detroit, he developed the product line that would become the basis of GrinderZ.

“Literally what we have now is what he started there, first as an experiment to see how it worked out, and then it started booming and he decided to start his own unit. That’s when GrinderZ was truly born,” Max said. 

The first location was at 15 Mile and Ryan roads in Sterling Heights, but this was followed a few years later by the Hazel Park site, a presence in the community now for nearly 25 years.

Max worked at GrinderZ when he was a teen, which helped him develop an appreciation for his father’s work ethic.

“If I made something a little sloppy, he’d ask me, ‘Would you want this?’ And if I said no, he’d say, ‘Then why are you serving it?’ He wasn’t afraid to remake something if it wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. He was a perfectionist, all about consistency — don’t serve something you don’t want to be served yourself,” Max said.

He also recalled how important it was to Wally that his children receive a proper education, and that they enjoyed their youth.

“When we (my siblings and I) were younger, he’d send us on vacation, but he wouldn’t come with us because he had to be at the store,” Max said. “We would go on cruises and go to Disney World and all that, but he was never there with us. He gave up a lot so that we could have the best childhood. I know many say it about their loved ones, but he was truly one of a kind.” 

Max also described how his father treated his staff like family, with many former employees checking in on him years after they left GrinderZ. 

“He made people comfortable to where they would bring their family and catch up with him 10 years later,” Max said. “He was also about doing whatever we can to help the community. That goes for anyone homeless who comes in — we try to provide what we can that won’t affect our business but that will still help them. And he was good with (Hazel Park High School), too — whenever they had certain events or fundraisers going, my dad would give out pizzas. He was just that kind of person.”

Victor Hannosh is a long-time friend of Wally’s who also immigrated from Iraq at age 9, just two years after Wally’s family. They met at Oak Park High School and would go on to start various businesses together. Today, he runs the GrinderZ in Sterling Heights, 3661 15 Mile Road, close to the original location but separate from it.

“We grew up together,” Hannosh said. “I knew him for over 45 years. He was like a brother to me. I would say he was, above all, a husband, a father. He always put family first. He always helped his family, his brothers, his sisters. 

“But he was also one hell of an entrepreneur — very successful with GrinderZ and other businesses, one thing leading to another,” Hannosh said. “We both started with nothing, basically — we came to this country (from Iraq) and my dad died first and then a year later his dad died, and we formed a connection through that, and were together ever since.”

Hannosh remembered his friend as competitive but kind.

“He comes from wrestling and always winning, so really his mindset was always to take down his opponent,” Hannosh said with a laugh. “He loved it. If you dared him and put a chip on his shoulder about something, he’d make sure to prove you wrong. So, he was very focused — but he was also very kind. He always gave. People came into his store asking for donations, for food to support programs in the schools, and he’d feed them. He was just open-hearted that way.”

Call Staff Writer Andy Kozlowski at (586) 498-1046.