Immigrants for Syria realize the American dream, open Middle Eastern restaurant in Paterson, N.J.
PATERSON, N.J. -- A New Jersey family is celebrating the opening of their restaurant in Paterson. The owners had a long journey to get there after escaping their native war-torn Syria six years ago.
CBS2's Astrid Martinez has more on how the nine siblings were able to make their American dream come true.
At a newly opened Middle Eastern restaurant, patience and perseverance are the main ingredients.
"It's not easy to open your own business in America, so I work very hard," said Toufki Alzouabi, co-owner of Houran Restaurant.
"Open my restaurant is my dream," co-owner Mohammad Al-Khawald added.
The restaurant is named after the city that Alzouabi, 22, and Al-Khawald, 27, fled in Syria. In the mid 2000s, the young men came to the U.S. penniless and speaking no English, but the friends and business partners are determined to succeed.
"Very hard. My English is very bad. I can't go to school. I work every day," Al-Khawald said.
That work is paying off.
On Tuesday, the friends and family celebrated the official grand opening of their restaurant in Paterson, which is known for its thriving immigrant community.
"They put in long hours. In fact, I think between 12 to 13 hours a day of work, just to get to this point, arrive at this moment. That's the very thing that we celebrate today. The American dream sounds trite. It's a phrase that's often used, but in this case, it is entirely appropriate," Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh said.
The dream and drive have set the young men on a new path.
"I was shocked. I didn't expect to have this much customers and, you know, support from people," Alzouabi said.
They went from refugees to entrepreneurs, using the skills they know to feed their communities and their families.
"Yeah, I'm so happy," al-Khawald said.