[4] Shaya began his culinary career as an intern at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Shaya spoke out in the midst of the controversy in support of the employees and shared that his repeated requests for human resource management during his time with the group had gone unanswered.
[12] In March 2018, Alon published his debut cookbook, "Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel" (Knopf).
[18] In 2019 he took chefs from his restaurants to Israel on a culinary tour so they could incorporate those tastes and flavors in the American establishments.
[33] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shaya turned his closed restaurants into soup kitchens offering free meals to furloughed hospitality-industry workers.
[34][35] He also partnered with chef Edward Lee in founding the Restaurant Worker Relief program.
[36] He is a chef fundraiser for No Kid Hungry, Alex’s Lemonade Stand, and DC Central Kitchen/Martha’s Table.