Andy Shallal
Encyclopedia
Anas "Andy" Shallal is an Iraq
i-American artist, activist and restaurateur. He is best known for his opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and as proprietor of the Busboys and Poets
restaurant chain in the Washington, DC area.
, a position he held until Saddam Hussein
seized power, after which they could not return. Looking for a business venture to support his family, Shallal's father bought Pizza Kaezano, a restaurant in Annandale, Virginia
. The younger Shallal worked in his father's pizzeria and took art classes. He graduated from Catholic University of America and later enrolled in Howard University
medical school. Shallal worked as a researcher in medical immunology at the National Institutes of Health
.
. In 2000 he opened Mimi's American Bistro, featuring servers who sing, dance and play the piano between serving diners. Shallal has since sold his interests in these restaurants.
In September 2005, he opened Busboys and Poets at 14th and V, in the historic U Street neighborhood. The restaurant features a bookstore, performance space and a mural painted by Shallal. The restaurant was an instant success, embraced by the neighborhood and the progressive community, especially among activists opposed to the Iraq War. Busboys' clientele has included Howard Zinn
, Alice Walker
, Cornel West
and Howard Dean
.
Shallal opened a second Busboys location in Arlington in July 2007, and he opened a third location in the D.C. at 5th & K NW in 2008. A fourth location will open in Hyattsville, Maryland
, in summer 2011.
-inspired restaurant that opened in 2009 by Andy Shallal, the founder of the restaurant Busboys and Poets
. It is located across the street from the Busboys and Poets restaurant in U Street Corridor
, Washington, DC. Culture and history are an important part of the restaurant; it is named after and takes its concept from Eatonville
, the hometown of Zora Neale Hurston
, an American folklorist
and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance
.
s, which were painted by a local artist. Shallal said she "was the life of the party, so I wanted the space to look lively and gregarious. And she wrote a lot about the porch at Eatonville where the townspeople tell stories, so we put in an area [with rocking chairs] for people to have drinks." According to Shallal, Carla Hall
from Top Chef
judged a "reality TV-style contest" to select Eatonville Restaurant's chef.
Amy Cavanaugh in the Decider: DC writes "With this spring's opening of Eatonville, his Zora Neale Hurston-themed restaurant, Andy Shallal is trying to mend a decades-old literary rift between the author and her contemporary, Langston Hughes, whom Shallal's Busboys And Poets chain is named in honor of. The two writers tried to collaborate on a play, Mule Bone, but things went sour: “They fought over copyright issues, but I think they wanted to be friends,” says Shallal. Since the restaurants are across the street from each other, Shallal sees it as a chance to reunite the two writers."
Shallal's Green Initiative
"Busboys and Poets is a popular green restaurant: it has plenty of vegan alternatives and organic beer and wines on its menu, and uses recyclable products and wind energy in its operations. But the venue is so much more than a restaurant. It houses a fair trade market and bookstore and a space for music shows and poetry slams, and frequently displays local artists’ works."
"'If you could change one thing about the green business landscape right now, what would it be'?
Make it less elitist and more accessible to ordinary citizens. Right now green is synonymous with costly. This needs to change. It should be more cost effective to operate a green business, yet green businesses face higher costs."
Elana Schor of The Hill
wrote: "From the service to the cuisine, Eatonville reflects the warmth and appreciative pace that made its namesake town an essential part of Hurston’s character. She was so enamored of Eatonville that she (falsely) claimed it as her birthplace — and after a few visits to Shallal’s laid-back boîte, you may become similarly attached. Eatonville’s charm rests in its cautious embrace of Southern staples. The usual suspects are represented on the menu, but most have been liberated from the oozing oil and tongue-dulling over-cooking with which they’re often associated."
organizations and holds leadership positions in numerous others. Among them are Iraqi Americans for Peaceful Alternatives, created prior to the 2003 invasion, and The Peace Cafe, which seeks to promote Arab-Jewish dialogue. At 800 members it is the largest such group in the Washington, DC area. Shallal is a Peace Fellow with Seeds of Peace
, spokesperson for Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC) and is chair of the board of trustees for Abraham's Vision, an organization bringing together Arab and Jewish students. Shallal is a recipient of the United Nations Human Rights Community Award and has been named Man of the Year by the Washington Peace Center.
In 2005, Shallal spoke at the counter-inaugural
of President George W. Bush
held at Malcolm X Park
. Later that year, he visited and provided catering at Sheehan's Camp Casey
protest in Crawford, Texas
. Sheehan later participated in an Impeachment Forum sponsored by Democracy Rising
at the U Street Busboys location.
He is a Foreign Policy In Focus
analyst for the left-leaning think tank Institute for Policy Studies
and current board member serving as Treasurer.
In 2010, the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington gave an award to Shallal for his support of the local arts community.
On October 12, 2010, Shallal was awarded the Champions of Democracy Award by DCVote for his activism in support of voting rights for the people of the District of Columbia.
and the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone
. Also included are Chilean diplomat and IPS fellow Orlando Letelier
and his assistant Ronni Moffitt
, who were killed by a car bomb
on Embassy Row in 1976. The mural depicts former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet
weeping into a handkerchief. As a board member of IPS, Shallal painted the mural free of charge.
Shallal painted the civil rights movement
-themed mural at Busboys and Poets, called Peace in Struggle Wall. He refuses to sign the civil rights mural at Busboys, saying this would be a "final gesture" that would preclude him from making revisions later.
Iraqi people
The Iraqi people or Mesopotamian people are natives or inhabitants of the country of Iraq, known since antiquity as Mesopotamia , with a large diaspora throughout the Arab World, Europe, the Americas, and...
i-American artist, activist and restaurateur. He is best known for his opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and as proprietor of the Busboys and Poets
Busboys and Poets
Busboys and Poets is a restaurant, bookstore, lounge, and theater in Washington, D.C., founded in 2005 by Andy Shallal. A second location opened in Shirlington in 2007; a third location opened in Washington, D.C., in 2008; and a fourth in Hyattsville, Maryland opened in July 2011...
restaurant chain in the Washington, DC area.
Early life
Shallal moved to the United States with his family in 1966. His father was Ambassador of the Arab LeagueArab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
, a position he held until Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
seized power, after which they could not return. Looking for a business venture to support his family, Shallal's father bought Pizza Kaezano, a restaurant in Annandale, Virginia
Annandale, Virginia
Annandale is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 41,008 at the 2010 census, down from 54,994 in 2000 due to the splitting off of the western part of it to form Wakefield and Woodburn CDP's.-Geography:...
. The younger Shallal worked in his father's pizzeria and took art classes. He graduated from Catholic University of America and later enrolled in Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
medical school. Shallal worked as a researcher in medical immunology at the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
.
Restaurants
With the experience gained from working for his father's restaurant, Shallal co-founded the Mediterranean-themed Skewers with older brother Tony, in 1987. He opened a spinoff, Cafe Luna at the same corner at 17th and P, and later Luna Grille on Connecticut Avenue south of Dupont CircleDupont Circle
Dupont Circle is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood, and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The traffic circle is located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue NW, Connecticut Avenue NW, New Hampshire Avenue NW, P Street NW, and 19th Street NW...
. In 2000 he opened Mimi's American Bistro, featuring servers who sing, dance and play the piano between serving diners. Shallal has since sold his interests in these restaurants.
In September 2005, he opened Busboys and Poets at 14th and V, in the historic U Street neighborhood. The restaurant features a bookstore, performance space and a mural painted by Shallal. The restaurant was an instant success, embraced by the neighborhood and the progressive community, especially among activists opposed to the Iraq War. Busboys' clientele has included Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn was an American historian, academic, author, playwright, and social activist. Before and during his tenure as a political science professor at Boston University from 1964-88 he wrote more than 20 books, which included his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United...
, Alice Walker
Alice Walker
Alice Malsenior Walker is an American author, poet, and activist. She has written both fiction and essays about race and gender...
, Cornel West
Cornel West
Cornel Ronald West is an American philosopher, author, critic, actor, civil rights activist and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America....
and Howard Dean
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
.
Shallal opened a second Busboys location in Arlington in July 2007, and he opened a third location in the D.C. at 5th & K NW in 2008. A fourth location will open in Hyattsville, Maryland
Hyattsville, Maryland
Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 17,557 at the 2000 census.- History :The city was named for its founder, Christopher Clark Hyatt. He purchased his first parcel of land in the area in March 1845...
, in summer 2011.
Eatonville Restaurant
Eatonville Restaurant is an SouthernSouthern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
-inspired restaurant that opened in 2009 by Andy Shallal, the founder of the restaurant Busboys and Poets
Busboys and Poets
Busboys and Poets is a restaurant, bookstore, lounge, and theater in Washington, D.C., founded in 2005 by Andy Shallal. A second location opened in Shirlington in 2007; a third location opened in Washington, D.C., in 2008; and a fourth in Hyattsville, Maryland opened in July 2011...
. It is located across the street from the Busboys and Poets restaurant in U Street Corridor
U Street Corridor
The U Street Corridor is a commercial and residential neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C with many shops, restaurants, nightclubs, art galleries, and music venues along a nine-block stretch of U Street. It extends from 9th Street on the east to 18th Street and Florida Avenue on the west...
, Washington, DC. Culture and history are an important part of the restaurant; it is named after and takes its concept from Eatonville
Eatonville, Florida
Eatonville is a town in Orange County, Florida, six miles north of Orlando. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee metropolitan statistical area. The population was 2,432 at the 2000 census. As of 2006, the population recorded by the U.S...
, the hometown of Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston was an American folklorist, anthropologist, and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance...
, an American folklorist
Folkloristics
Folkloristics is the formal academic study of folklore. The term derives from a nineteenth century German designation of folkloristik to distinguish between folklore as the content and folkloristics as its study, much as language is distinguished from linguistics...
and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...
.
Background
Shallal always wanted to use Hurston as an inspiration for the restaurant. In 2007, while talking about his plans for the restaurant, Shallal said: "I'd like to incorporate Zora Neale Hurston into the name. I like taking literary [authors] and using them as springboards." He chose her because had studied the Harlem Renaissance during college, and wanted to use someone who lived during that period and had a connection to Washington. Eatonville pays homage to Hurston through the muralMural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s, which were painted by a local artist. Shallal said she "was the life of the party, so I wanted the space to look lively and gregarious. And she wrote a lot about the porch at Eatonville where the townspeople tell stories, so we put in an area [with rocking chairs] for people to have drinks." According to Shallal, Carla Hall
Carla Hall
Carla Hall is an American chef residing in Washington, D.C. She was a finalist in the fifth and eighth seasons of Top Chef, Bravo's cooking competition show. On April 14, 2011, it was announced that Hall will be one of 5 cohosts on The Chew, a one-hour live show centered on food from all angles...
from Top Chef
Top Chef
Top Chef is an American reality competition show that airs on the cable television network Bravo, in which chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges. They are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry with one or more contestants...
judged a "reality TV-style contest" to select Eatonville Restaurant's chef.
Amy Cavanaugh in the Decider: DC writes "With this spring's opening of Eatonville, his Zora Neale Hurston-themed restaurant, Andy Shallal is trying to mend a decades-old literary rift between the author and her contemporary, Langston Hughes, whom Shallal's Busboys And Poets chain is named in honor of. The two writers tried to collaborate on a play, Mule Bone, but things went sour: “They fought over copyright issues, but I think they wanted to be friends,” says Shallal. Since the restaurants are across the street from each other, Shallal sees it as a chance to reunite the two writers."
Shallal's Green Initiative
"Busboys and Poets is a popular green restaurant: it has plenty of vegan alternatives and organic beer and wines on its menu, and uses recyclable products and wind energy in its operations. But the venue is so much more than a restaurant. It houses a fair trade market and bookstore and a space for music shows and poetry slams, and frequently displays local artists’ works."
"'If you could change one thing about the green business landscape right now, what would it be'?
Make it less elitist and more accessible to ordinary citizens. Right now green is synonymous with costly. This needs to change. It should be more cost effective to operate a green business, yet green businesses face higher costs."
Reception
The Washington Examiners Jeff Dufour said the murals in the restaurant "can appear a bit cacophonous to the eye, but up close, some of the work is beautiful, and delightfully in keeping with Shallal's southern theme." Dufour added: "Executive Chef Rusty Holman hews closely to soul food's greatest hits. You'll find respectable versions of gumbo, etoufée and pecan-crusted trout. Fried chicken breast is crispy and juicy, and the fried green tomatoes boast goat cheese and corn salsa. The execution is still uneven in some spots. The right half of a BBQ-glazed mahi mahi emerged perfectly done; the left side was unforgivably overcooked. A cheddar tart appetizer betrayed no cheddar flavor, nor much flavor from the roasted tomatoes that topped it. A much better choice is the catfish, which was dusted in cornmeal before being perfectly fried."Elana Schor of The Hill
The Hill (newspaper)
The Hill, a subsidiary of News Communications Inc., is a newspaper published in Washington, D.C. since 1994.Its first editor was Martin Tolchin, a veteran correspondent in the Washington bureau of The New York Times....
wrote: "From the service to the cuisine, Eatonville reflects the warmth and appreciative pace that made its namesake town an essential part of Hurston’s character. She was so enamored of Eatonville that she (falsely) claimed it as her birthplace — and after a few visits to Shallal’s laid-back boîte, you may become similarly attached. Eatonville’s charm rests in its cautious embrace of Southern staples. The usual suspects are represented on the menu, but most have been liberated from the oozing oil and tongue-dulling over-cooking with which they’re often associated."
Awards
Shallal was honored at The DC Vote Champions of Democracy Awards Dinner on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 for advocating for full, equal voting rights for DC. Shallal also drew an original mural highlighting the struggle to end “Taxation without Representation” that was auctioned off at the gala to benefit DC Vote. “When Iraq got its voting rights,” Shallal said ” I was able to vote in Iraq. I was surprised that I was able to vote in a representative government while I can’t in my own city where I live today.”Activism
Shallal has founded or co-founded several peace movementPeace movement
A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...
organizations and holds leadership positions in numerous others. Among them are Iraqi Americans for Peaceful Alternatives, created prior to the 2003 invasion, and The Peace Cafe, which seeks to promote Arab-Jewish dialogue. At 800 members it is the largest such group in the Washington, DC area. Shallal is a Peace Fellow with Seeds of Peace
Seeds of Peace
Seeds of Peace is a peacebuilding youth organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1993. As its main program, the organization brings youth from areas of conflict to its international camp in Maine. It also provides regional programming to support Seeds of Peace graduates, known as...
, spokesperson for Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC) and is chair of the board of trustees for Abraham's Vision, an organization bringing together Arab and Jewish students. Shallal is a recipient of the United Nations Human Rights Community Award and has been named Man of the Year by the Washington Peace Center.
In 2005, Shallal spoke at the counter-inaugural
January 20, 2005 counter-inaugural protest
The January 20, 2005 counter-inaugural protests were a large number of demonstrations held in Washington, D.C. and other American cities to protest the second inauguration of U.S. President George W. Bush.- Rally at Malcolm X Park :...
of President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
held at Malcolm X Park
Meridian Hill Park
Meridian Hill Park, is located in the Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Columbia Heights in the United States. The 12 acres of landscaped grounds are maintained by the National Park Service as part of Rock Creek Park, but are not contiguous with the main part of that park...
. Later that year, he visited and provided catering at Sheehan's Camp Casey
Camp Casey, Crawford, Texas
Camp Casey was the name given to the encampment of anti-war protesters outside the Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas during US President George W...
protest in Crawford, Texas
Crawford, Texas
Crawford is a town located in western McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is best known as the home of former President of the United States George W. Bush. He currently resides at the Prairie Chapel Ranch, which is located just outside Crawford, Texas....
. Sheehan later participated in an Impeachment Forum sponsored by Democracy Rising
Democracy Rising
Democracy Rising was an organization founded in 2001 to oppose military actions of the United States against Iraq and, after the Iraq War, to promote an exit strategy to end the occupation of Iraq. It was a member of United for Peace and Justice. Its web site contained Ralph Nader's interactive...
at the U Street Busboys location.
He is a Foreign Policy In Focus
Foreign Policy In Focus
Foreign Policy In Focus is a project of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC. FPIF describes itself as a "Think Tank Without Walls" that brings together over 600 writers, scholars, academics, artists and activists seeking to make the United States a more responsible global...
analyst for the left-leaning think tank Institute for Policy Studies
Institute for Policy Studies
Institute for Policy Studies is a left-wing think tank based in Washington, D.C..It has been directed by John Cavanagh since 1998- History :...
and current board member serving as Treasurer.
In 2010, the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington gave an award to Shallal for his support of the local arts community.
On October 12, 2010, Shallal was awarded the Champions of Democracy Award by DCVote for his activism in support of voting rights for the people of the District of Columbia.
Murals
Shallal painted the mural at IPS's headquarters on 16th street NW, which tells the story of the Institute and social movements it has been involved with. The mural is several hundred square feet and wrapped around a 50-seat square meeting room. Featured in the mural are the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Benjamin SpockBenjamin Spock
Benjamin McLane Spock was an American pediatrician whose book Baby and Child Care, published in 1946, is one of the biggest best-sellers of all time. Its message to mothers is that "you know more than you think you do."Spock was the first pediatrician to study psychoanalysis to try to understand...
and the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone
Paul Wellstone
Paul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College...
. Also included are Chilean diplomat and IPS fellow Orlando Letelier
Orlando Letelier
Marcos Orlando Letelier del Solar was a Chilean economist, Socialist politician and diplomat during the presidency of Socialist President Salvador Allende...
and his assistant Ronni Moffitt
Ronni Moffitt
Ronni Moffitt , was a American political activist.-Early Life:She was born in Passaic, New Jersey as Ronni Susan Karpen on January 10, 1951 to Murray and Hilda Karpen. She was the oldest of three children including Harry Karpen and Michael Karpen. Her family owned a restaurant called "Karpen's" and...
, who were killed by a car bomb
Letelier case
The Letelier case refers to the killing in Washington, D.C. of Orlando Letelier, a Chilean political figure and later United States-based activist, along with his American assistant, Ronni Moffitt...
on Embassy Row in 1976. The mural depicts former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
weeping into a handkerchief. As a board member of IPS, Shallal painted the mural free of charge.
Shallal painted the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
-themed mural at Busboys and Poets, called Peace in Struggle Wall. He refuses to sign the civil rights mural at Busboys, saying this would be a "final gesture" that would preclude him from making revisions later.
External links
- Busboys and Poets official website
- Estonville Restaurant official website