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November 2012. Vol XXXX. Issue III.
volve the entire family up opening a restaurant soon after.” After opening his first restaurant, Around Town Editor Moe Sharifkhani returned to Iran and married Eddy’s mother, Nazi. If there’s one thing junior Eddy “For years the restaurant had been Sharifkhani has learned from be- called the Downtowner Cafe, but ing a child of restaurant owners, it when my mom and my father came is that “waking up early makes you back and made renovations to the successful.” For Sharifkhani, the place, it became the Downtowner Downtowner Woodfire Grill and Woodfire Grill,” Sharifkhani said. Burger Moe’s have become the cenA few years after the changes to ter of family activity for him and his the Downtowner Woodfire Grill, the parents. Sharifkhani purchased the property “I go to the Downtowner Wood- across the street and opened Burger fire Grill every morning for break- Moe’s. fast,” Sharifkhani said, “and work Since last year, Sharifkhani has there on Sunday’s helping to manage been helping out at the Downtownthe restaurant.” For the past twenty er Woodfire Grill, where he is learnyears the Downtowner has become a ing more about the workplace and landmark restaurant for diners along his parent’s business. West 7th Street in St. Paul. “Sometimes we get to meet senaIn addition the Downtowner tors, lawyers, and owners of teams Woodfire Grill, Sharifkhani parents like the Minnesota Wild,” Sharalso own Burger Moe’s, a burger ifkhani said. “But once when I was joint named after his father, across working at the restaurant, I was seatthe street. ing customers and tripped them by The Downtowner Woodfire Grill accident.” and Burger Moe’s have played a Despite the restaurant becoming dominant role in Sharifkhani family a major part of Sharifkhani’s daily history. When asked how his father, life, he has other aspirations and Moe Sharifkhani, got into the restau- plans to diverge from the restaurant rant business, Sharifkhani respond- business. “I personally don’t want to ed, “My father didn’t want to run a run a family business. My parent’s business... he had to.” have been in the restaurant busi“When my father came to Amer- ness for so long, I think I want to ica from his homeland, Iran, he only do something different,” Sharifkhani had two or three hundred dollars. said. “But I have learned a lot from He had planned to study medicine my parent’s business, especially that but because he wasn’t a U.S. citizen in order to be successful you have and didn’t have enough money he to wake up early cause my parent’s couldn’t. So he had to do something wake up early and are usually at the that didn’t cost as much,” Shar- restaurant before six in the mornifkhani said. “He attended the Uni- ing to make sure everything is okay versity of Wisconsin-River Falls and when the servers come at seven.” studied business, in which he ended
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Liz Rossman
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Junior Eddy Sharifkhani makes a reservation for customers at the host stand in the Downtowner Woodfire Grill, an American-Persian restaurant owned and founded by his father, Moe Sharifkhani. “I go to the Downtowner Woodfire Grill every morning for breakfast, and work on there on Sunday’s helping to manage the restaurant,” Sharifkhani said.
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Waking up early makes you successful. junior Eddy Sharifkhani
Photo submitted by Eddy Sharifkhani
ommers and freshman Ora Hammel gain responsibility and learn the importance of persistency ing cupcakes,” Hammel said. “This summer I worked a lot on decorating ice cream cakes, and that was fun. My sister [Anda] worked a lot during the summer in the office, with checks and bills with my mom and stuff. My mom does a lot of organizing and office work.” This definitely implies a large commitment to time, but, according to Jeff Sommers, Anda Sommers and Ora Hammel, it is time well spent. “I work on a daily basis as many as 12 hours. For instance, today I’ve been working since 7 a.m.,” Jeff Sommers said. This connects to the same reason his daughter Anda said she will “never, ever, ever” go into business when she is older, with her given reason being “way to much stress for me.” But, for the rewarding element, Jeff Sommers said, “It allows us to innovate and take a leadership role in society. It allows us to mentor young people and model excellence. And we get to have some fun.” “I have mixed feelings about it. I see a lot of the stressful and negative parts of running a business and obviously that’s hard for our family. On the other hand I am constantly impressed with how
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... I am constantly impressed with how much my parents accomplished. junior Anda Sommers much my parents accomplished,” Anda Sommers said. “I think it’s really cool. Most families work in an office and have a boss, but my parents are the boss... And I get free ice cream!” Hammel said. When I was little I would draw signs and my dad would put them up in the store, that was fun,” Anda Sommers recalled. In terms of how much the business cuts into family time, Hammel remarked that “sometimes they [my parents] talk about work on the weekends, and it doesn’t really bother us, and sometimes it’s cool to hear
what’s up.” Hammel added, “Since my parents both have the same job, they like to bring work into the house.” Similarly, her sister Anda Sommers said, “Izzy’s is super time consuming. Unlike some jobs where you work for a set time, my parents are constantly working. We will be sitting around the dinner table and my parents will be doing work... it makes life at home very chaotic. It’s always a struggle finding rides and putting meals together.” Her father’s response about the responsibility with respect to time was: “Yeah, sometimes it’s for
Photo Credit: Boraan Abdulkarim Jeff Sommers and Lara Hammel own an ice cream store, Izzy’s Ice Cream, which can be found on the corner of Marshall Avenue and Cleveland Avenue in St. Paul. “I have a tremendous amount of respect and honor for my peers that work in or run family-owned businesses,” Sommers said.
the better, and sometimes for the worse,” he said. How do we learn to succeed? What makes a small business grow and thrive? What separates the 30% of non-failing family owned businesses from the majority? It’s safe to call this one a win for the element of experience. “I get to learn a lot about businesses, and for when I get a real job, I’m currently gaining experience in how to act as an employee towards the boss and hear a lot of these things. I learn from Izzy’s
workers’ mistakes,” Hammel said. Anda Sommers gave an example: “Like if an employee accidentally unplugs a freezer and all the ice cream melts not only do we lose money but my dad has to drop whatever he is doing and go help.” She connects this to “the importance of persistence. My parents constantly face challenges and have to work at overcoming them. They never give up on what’s important to them and I think that’s a good lesson.”