Roozbeh Farahanipour shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Roozbeh , thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: Have you stood up for someone when it cost you something?
Yes, I have stood up for others, even when it cost me everything.
In 1999, I was not only a journalist but also one of the leaders of the student uprising in Tehran. We were demanding freedom, democracy, and dignity for our people. The regime responded with brutality. I was arrested, tortured, and sentenced to execution. I will never forget the cold prison cell, the beatings, and the fear that every moment might be my last. I lost my country, my career, and the life I knew — but I could not betray those who were looking to us for courage.
When I came to Los Angeles, I carried that same responsibility with me. During the pandemic, when seniors were trapped in their homes, we turned Delphi Greek into a lifeline — serving nearly 95,000 meals. I still remember the tears of an elderly woman who told me she thought she had been forgotten, until we knocked on her door with food. At the same time, through the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, I stood up for small businesses, challenging government policies that were suffocating them, even when it wasn’t politically easy.
More recently, I helped lead the effort to rename Westwood’s main intersection “Women Life Freedom Square,” so Los Angeles would stand with the brave women of Iran. And during the 12-day Iran–Israel war, I took a public stand against dictatorship, terrorism, and war, calling for peace and protection of innocent lives, knowing it could cost me support.
For me, leadership has never been about comfort. From leading an uprising in Tehran to leading in my community here in Los Angeles, it has always meant standing up for others — even when it costs you everything.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Roozbeh Farahanipour, and my story is both deeply personal and very American.
I came to this country as a political asylee after being arrested and sentenced to execution in Iran for my work as a journalist and as one of the leaders of the 1999 student uprising. When I arrived here, I had nothing. I worked in restaurants, washing dishes and serving tables, learning the business from the ground up. Unlike many others in my situation, I chose not to depend on government assistance or grants. That decision was important to me, because it gave me independence. I don’t have to change my tune every four years with the political winds, and I can freely study, practice, and defend the First Amendment without fear or compromise.
Today, I am proud to own three restaurants and a catering company in Los Angeles. Delphi Greek has been a Westwood institution for 40 years, Mary & Robbs is a beloved neighborhood café, and Persian Gulf — which I am working hard to reopen — is both a restaurant and a cultural treasure. These businesses are more than places to eat; they are job creators, tax contributors, and community anchors. To me, that is the real American Dream: to arrive with nothing and build a future that supports others.
But my work is not only in business. I also serve as CEO of the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, where I advocate for small businesses and the community. During the pandemic, I helped deliver 94,500 meals to seniors in lockdown. I also helped lead the renaming of Westwood Square to “Women Life Freedom Square,” honoring the courage of women in Iran.
What makes my story unique is not just survival, but transformation: from prisoner to entrepreneur, from exile to community leader, from someone who lost everything to someone who now creates opportunities for others. That independence — earned, not granted — allows me to live and lead with integrity. That, to me, is the essence of America.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
One moment that shaped how I see the world was when I was just a child in Iran. I was only seven when the revolution happened. I still remember the morning when my mother was walking me to school, and the news announced that her cousin had been executed that very morning. We turned back home in silence. A few months later, the regime attacked my Catholic school — Don Bosco — and arrested most of the priests. Some were even executed. By a miracle, Father François, who had been a guiding light for us, escaped and eventually made it to the Vatican. To this day, I hope I can meet him again and tell him how much his courage meant to me.
That experience of seeing violence and injustice at such a young age marked me forever. Later, as a journalist and one of the leaders of the 1999 uprising, I found myself on the other side of that same system: in a prison cell, on an execution list, waiting to die. I understood, in the most painful way, what it means when a government destroys freedom and silences its people.
But I also learned something else: that survival can become purpose. From that prison cell, I eventually rebuilt my life in Los Angeles. Here, I have become a business owner, a job creator, and a community leader. I helped feed nearly 95,000 seniors during the pandemic, fought for small businesses as CEO of the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, and worked to rename Westwood Square to “Women Life Freedom,” so the struggles of others would not be forgotten.
So when I look at the world, I see it through the eyes of someone who has lost everything and been given a second chance. I see it as a place where freedom is fragile, where courage matters, and where each of us has a responsibility to stand up for others. That journey — from a child walking to school under dictatorship, to a prisoner on an execution list, to a community leader in Los Angeles — is what has shaped me, and it is why I do what I do.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I was born to believe in never giving up. For me, that’s not just a phrase — it’s the story of my life, and it’s what makes the American Dream real.
When I was two, my parents divorced, and I grew up with my mother and her family in a country that was becoming darker and more dangerous by the day. As a young man, I was arrested and tortured three times by the Islamic Republic of Iran for my work as a journalist and activist. I was even placed on death row. If there was ever a time to give up, it was there — but I didn’t. I survived.
When I came to the United States, I arrived with nothing but a penny jar that my father gave me. That was literally my only money. I lived for a year and a half inside a small upstairs office in the building that later became Delphi Greek Restaurant. There was no shower, no restroom, and often no food. I’ll never forget my first Thanksgiving in Westwood: cold, lonely, and sad. I had no one. I used coins from that penny jar to buy a single cup of coffee from 7-Eleven, and that was my dinner. Today, just a few blocks away, my restaurants Delphi and Mary & Robbs are open on Thanksgiving, serving hundreds of people so that no one feels as alone as I once did.
There have been many other times I was brought back to zero. The pandemic nearly wiped us out. One of my restaurants caught fire, another was devastated by a flood. Financially and emotionally, I’ve been on the edge more than once. But each time, I chose the same path: I refused to give up.
That is why I am still here today — as an entrepreneur, as a job creator, as a community leader. My story is not about never falling; it’s about always getting back up. I am living proof that no matter how many times life knocks you down, in America, if you never give up, you can rebuild, you can grow, and you can lead.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
The project I am most committed to — no matter how long it takes — is the freedom of the Iranian people. I am now an American, a survivor, and a retired opposition leader, but I still feel a profound responsibility to those back home. Freedom fighters do not belong to one country. I mentor and support people in Iran from afar, because I know that one day, the Khamenei regime and the Islamic Republic will be overthrown by the people themselves. Dictators always believe everything is fine until the last page of their story — and we are writing that page.
I will continue this work as long as it takes, guided by the same principles that shaped my life: courage, resilience, and respect for human dignity. I am proud to do it not with bombs or weapons, but with hope, mentorship, and solidarity — helping Iranians achieve their freedom on their own terms.
One of the proudest moments of my life was the day before our arrest in July 1999, when Khamenei appeared on state television and cried — because of us. That moment showed me that even small acts of courage, even when facing impossible odds, can shake the foundations of tyranny. I will continue to work for the freedom of Iran, even as an American, guided by the values of liberty, justice, and human rights.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I believe I am doing exactly what I was born to do — and no one can tell me otherwise. My life has always been guided by a commitment to stand up for others, whether that meant facing the threat of execution in Iran or leading a community thousands of miles away in Los Angeles.
I was born a freedom fighter, and that part of me has never left. But my purpose has expanded with every chapter of my life. Today, I advocate for small businesses as CEO of the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, creating jobs and opportunities for people who are working hard to build their own dreams. I help feed seniors in our community, ensuring that no one is forgotten. I have preserved cultural and ethnic traditions through my restaurants, while also making a public statement for human rights — like leading the renaming of Westwood’s main intersection to “Women Life Freedom Square.”
For me, purpose is not a single job or title; it is a life lived in service, courage, and integrity. Every choice I have made, from risking my life as a journalist and activist to building businesses that employ and nourish people, has been part of the same mission: to stand up, to give back, and to create freedom and opportunity wherever I can. That is what I was born to do — and I will continue to do it, no matter the challenges
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.westlachamber.org/leadership
- Instagram: @Farahanipour
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roozbehfarahanipour
- Twitter: @Ruzbehjon
- Facebook: @Farahanipour
- Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/delphi-greek-restaurant-and-bar-los-angeles-3
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/roozbehfarahanipour
- Other: Roozbeh Farahanipour – Wikipedia https://share.google/zKijOPOlYGJIiTQlW
Image Credits
Ruzbehjon inc.
