Anas "Andy" Shallal (Arabic: أنس شلال) (born March 21, 1955) is an Iraqi-American artist, activist, philanthropist and entrepreneur.

His father was Ambassador of the Arab League, a position he held until Saddam Hussein seized power, after which they could not return.

The restaurant was an instant success, embraced by the neighborhood and the progressive community, especially among activists opposed to the Iraq War.

Placing an emphasis on history and culture, the restaurant was named after and takes its concept from Eatonville, the hometown of Zora Neale Hurston, an American folklorist and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance.

And she wrote a lot about the porch at Eatonville where the townspeople tell stories, so we put in an area [with rocking chairs] for people to have drinks.

[13] Amy Cavanaugh in the Decider: DC writes "With this spring's opening of Eatonville, his Zora Neale Hurston-themed restaurant, Andy Shallal is trying to mend a decades-old literary rift between the author and her contemporary, Langston Hughes, whom Shallal's Busboys And Poets chain is named in honor of.

The two writers tried to collaborate on a play, Mule Bone, but things went sour: “They fought over copyright issues, but I think they wanted to be friends,” says Shallal.

REAL (Responsible Epicurean Agricultural Leadership) Certification is a program of the USHFC to help connect people who want healthful and sustainable food and beverages with the restaurants that provide them.

[citation needed] He was named "Democracy's Restaurateur" by Ralph Nader in a Washington Post article by David Montgomery.

Shallal is a recipient of the United Nations Human Rights Community Award and has been named Man of the Year by the Washington Peace Center.

Shallal also drew an original mural highlighting the struggle to end “Taxation without Representation” that was auctioned off at the gala to benefit DC Vote.

I was surprised that I was able to vote in a representative government while I can’t in my own city where I live today.” Shallal painted the mural at the headquarters of the Institute for Policy Studies on 16th street NW, which depicts the story of IPS and social movements in which it has been involved.

Also included are Chilean diplomat and IPS fellow Orlando Letelier and his assistant Ronni Moffitt, who were killed by a car bomb on Embassy Row in 1976.

Shallal painted the civil rights movement-themed mural at Busboys and Poets, called Peace in Struggle Wall.

[1] Andy has been referred to as the Bill de Blasio of D.C. mayoral candidates [22] and was endorsed by actor Danny Glover and writers George Pelecanos and Barbara Ehrenreich.