Food Chain - Issue 193 - April 2023 | Page 151

PB & J Restaurants
◀ Paul Khoury

Finding the silver lining

Unemployed to employing hundreds : the inspiring story of PB & J Restaurants

When Paul Khoury began PB & J Restaurants ( PB & J ) in 1987 , he couldn ’ t have predicted where it was going to end up . Back then , he ’ d just been forced to leave what many would consider to be a dream job : Vice President for a national restaurant group . The buyout that led to his unemployment was headline news – even The New York Times wrote about it . Little did he know , but this was the moment Paul ’ s career was about to take off . Rather than dwelling on his loss , he funneled his energy into carving out a future . “ I took the little money I had locked up in savings and investments and borrowed $ 115,000 to start my new life ,” he reveals .

It began with a relatively small , 2200-square-foot diner inside a shopping center . “ Business was slow initially ,” Paul remembers . “ But it was just myself , my wife , and my business partner back then . Yet , over time , we began to get some great reviews . Soon enough , Paradise Diner began attracting huge crowds !”
Developers noticed and came looking for Paul . They wanted to know if he and his close-knit team could open new restaurants for them , including Coyote Grill and Grand Street Café .
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