Andy Shallal remembered as he worked toward his Master of Business Administration, “The professors always told us, you just don’t mix politics and business, because it’s not good business.”

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But for Shallal, it was part of the recipe for success for his restaurant Busboys and Poets, which first opened at 14th and V streets in Northwest D.C.

Now, there are eight restaurants in the chain, and Shallal said the idea grew from his concern after what he saw following 9/11.

“As an Arab and a Muslim living in this country, I felt li

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