Samir | Nagyfuvaros street

“I was born in Egypt. I came to Hungary in 2006 to visit my uncle. I had lived here with his family since 1990. I got to love this country and I decided that if I could make a living, I would stay. I invested all my capital in a non-stop shop in Üllői Street. It proved to be successful. I continued my enterprise and I opened this restaurant in 2008, here, in the 8th district. I am Christian by religion. Most people don’t know that many people among Arabs follow Jesus, that’s why there are so many religious pictures hanging on the walls to show it to my guests. All my colleagues are from a different nationality. Ancsi is local. She cooks the Hungarian dishes. Uncle Fikiri is from Sudan, he manages the Arabic food with me. One of the bartenders is also from Egypt. He works while he studies at university. Another colleague is from Eritrea. I think that good working atmosphere is very important. There is no hierarchy here, everybody does everything. Me as well as the others, I also do the dishes, cook and serve the customers. I´d like my colleagues to treat the restaurant as their own. They have been working with me for years. We are a family. And one spends most of their lives at their workplace. Our speciality is that besides the Arabic foods, we have Hungarian dishes either. We like to please our customers. For, example, one of our regulars who has just left ordered potato pasta for tomorrow. We are going to make it! I write it in my little notebook and I give the order to Ancsi. You always have to greet the customers in a friendly manner. You have to talk to them. How was their day, how are they, why are they sad? I know a lot of people in this area. Every morning, I give the food that is left from the previous one to the homeless people of Dankó Street. It is not a problem for me, I’m happy to help. When the refugees appeared in the János Pál Pápa Square in the summer, I was faced with their bad situation and I decided that I would help. As long as I could, I financed cooking lunch for them on my own.”