WTC Survivors Build Their Own Restaurant

Sept. 9 -- Two years ago, Magdi Labib was on top of the world. The 48-year-old Egyptian immigrant was captain at Windows on the World, the restaurant atop the World Trade Center. Then came Sept. 11.

Although he was one of the lucky ones — the terrorist attack killed 73 employees from the restaurant — the father of two was left without work until just three months ago. More than half of the 300 surviving World Trade Center food workers are still unemployed.

But now a new restaurant, their own restaurant, is in the works for 43 Windows on the World survivors.

"It has been terrible trying to find work since 9/11. Every day there was something that was a constant reminder of the pain," says Labib. "But now we are really excited about this new venture."

Helping to make the new restaurant a reality is an immigrant worker-led program formed after 9/11 by two former Windows workers and a community organizer. The Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York, or ROC-NY, initially intended as a temporary means of support for displaced workers, has grown to include "English Plus" classes for families of WTC victims and legislative initiatives to improve working conditions in restaurants.

Now it has its sights set on building its own restaurant in TriBeCa.

"9/11 was a tragedy but it made us come together," says Fekkak Mamdouh, 42. Mamdouh, an immigrant from Morocco with a wife and two young children, was a waiter at Windows for five years. "For us — immigrants in this country — to open this restaurant is a dream. And now this dream is going to be a reality."

‘Not a Memorial, But a Way to Carry Forward’

The workers, who meet every Monday and Wednesday in a small TriBeCa office, are busy these days. They just raised $35,000 from a catering cooperative and they've hired consultants for the venture.

"The restaurant is not meant to be a memorial," says Saru Jayaraman, 27, an attorney, a professor and ROC's founder and executive director. "It will be a world-class restaurant and it's such a positive way to carry forward in their name. I hope that this cooperative enterprise will set a standard in this industry."