There’s a refugee-run restaurant in Knoxville, Tennessee called Yassin’s Falafel House, and they were voted the Nicest Place in America last year.
That’s not why their making news now, though. They’ve begun an initiative to care for furloughed government employees by offering free meals to those not receiving a paycheck due to the government shutdown.
Local community members are also getting in on the action on the action by pitching in donations to help the restaurant cover the costs of the free meal.
Furthermore, local community members are pitching in to cover the costs of the free
Yassin’s Falafel House posted to Facebook saying, “Government employees are our brothers and sisters and they are not going be alone during [this] shutdown and we can’t be the nicest place in America if we leave them alone.”
Yassin Terou is a Syrian refugee who’s become a beloved member of the community since coming to the US in 2011, and for the last four years he’s used his restaurant as a neighborhood sanctuary for everyone, regardless of religion, race, politics, etc.