The Newport Restaurant, Ottawa, ON

Mr. Moe Atallah is a successful business person and a well-known philanthropist, having raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities. He is also co-founder, along with the late Canadian journalist Earl McRae, of the Elvis Sighting Society, a philanthropic organization that donates generously to many fine, local institutions. Mention the name Moe Atallah almost anywhere in this city and everyone will know that you are talking about this iconic and generous restaurant owner.
Moe Atallah came to Canada as a 32-year-old refugee from Lebanon in 1976. His only brother was a journalist and columnist in Montreal at the time, and Atallah, a Christian who owned 3 restaurants in the Muslim section of Lebanon, left during the civil war. He found a job at a restaurant on his first day.
“The owner said ‘will you do dishes’. I said, I’ll do anything. I was lucky, he didn’t want a dishwasher, he wanted a manager, ” says Atallah. “I spoke English, Italian, French and Lebanese. I ran restaurants; I did dishes; I still do dishes now.”