"He got his start as a teen in an Annandale pizza joint owned by his father, then eventually opened his first hit DC restaurants: Cafe Luna, Skewers, and Mimi's. Shallal chronicles how he was drawn to political activism, from protesting the Gulf War between restaurant shifts in the early '90s to convening antiwar activists in his establishments in the wake of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003."
"Ever since I got to this country, I felt like an alien on a different planet. I was 11 years old, and to top it off, I was put into a higher grade than I should have been. Trying to figure out how you fit in, the language, the cultural land mines-not only as a foreigner but as a student in a middle school being two years younger than everybody else-too many things were thrown at me."
"Well, finding my tribe was my mission from the time I came here, right? And it's been a mixed bag. Sometimes I feel so in love with America. And sometimes I just want to find a way out. It's really kind of scary because I don't have anyplace [else] to go. I've got to make it work. I want this place to be as good as I had hoped it would be."
Shallal emigrated from Iraq as a child and felt like an outsider, which motivated him to create welcoming restaurant spaces. He began working in his father’s Annandale pizza joint, later opening successful DC venues including Cafe Luna, Skewers, and Mimi’s. Political engagement accompanied his hospitality career, from protesting the Gulf War between shifts to hosting antiwar activists after the 2003 invasion. Finding a supportive community remained central to his identity, producing mixed feelings about belonging in America. Over decades he expanded across the region while maintaining outspoken activism and a commitment to inclusive spaces.
Read at Washingtonian - The website that Washington lives by.
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