Tanios and Marie Abi-Najm along with their five young children, Dory, Dany, David, Gladys and Grace, immigrated to the United States in 1976. In the middle of the night, the family boarded a cargo ship to escape the Civil War in Lebanon bringing only what they could carry. The final destination was Arlington, Virginia where other family members had already been living. For three years, the parents worked in several restaurants and the three oldest boys performed odd jobs such as newspaper delivery, mowing lawns, and working as busboys. In 1979, the family saved enough money to purchase a small restaurant in the Westover neighborhood of Arlington, where they lived. Being practical, they kept the original sign, "Athenian Taverna," but changed one word, and thus" Lebanese Taverna" was born. Each family member had a role at the original location whether it was greeting guests, serving food, cooking in the kitchen or finishing homework at the tables.
With the success of the second Lebanese Taverna in DC, the family envisioned having several locations throughout the DC Metropolitan area. Lebanese Taverna Group was formed to house the corporate office. Henrik Suhr, a family friend and graduate of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, joined the group to help with business management and lease negotiation.
Today, Lebanese Taverna is a multi-concept collaboration with six restaurants, four quick service cafes, a market, and full service catering division. T