“Working In The City” is The San Diego Sun’s feature Q&A series with downtown San Diego business operators. It’s a way to get to know the city by meeting the people who work here. This is the 15th in an ongoing series.
Company: Bandar Restaurant (845 Fourth Avenue)
Owners: Behrooz & Shokooh Farahani have lived in San Diego for 36 years. The husband-wife team has run this fine dining Persian-Mediterranean restaurant for 28 years.
Family business origin story: It was a snowy day in Iran back in the 1980s. I met the woman of my dreams when Shokooh was in town visiting her sister. This encounter led to romance and a hand in marriage to my soulmate. We had adorable twin girls and I opened a successful architectural firm in Tehran. When war broke out our young Farahani family left for the promise of opportunity in the United States. We are passionate about our culture and Persian cuisine, which we consider an art that provides enjoyment to the body and mind. In 1995, we opened Bandar in a Gaslamp Quarter building built in 1905.
Employees: 15-20.
Specialty: Persian cuisine is exotic and healthy. We offer combinations of fresh filet mignon, beef, lamb, chicken, fish, garlic, onion, nuts, pomegranate, basmati rice and herbs. To achieve a delicious taste and a balanced diet, unique Persian spices such as saffron, and limes and vegetables, are delicately mixed.
Best aspect of working downtown: The historic architecture. And, seeing all the different tourists, nationalities and professionals that come in for convention center events.
Worst aspect of working downtown: Parking can be difficult. We offer discount validation parking at Horton Plaza. (Yes, the parking lot is still open.)
Funniest work memory: We planned to have a grand opening after two weeks, and on the first day we set up the business for training our employees. Then customers started walking in. The whole restaurant filled up in five minutes before I could tell them we weren’t actually open! We had no choice but to start cooking and serve them. We never had an official grand opening.
Scariest work memory: During the pandemic, the streets in the Gaslamp were like a ghost town.
Homelessness: It does not greatly affect our business.
Business friendliness of the city, on a scale of 1 (easiest) to 10 (hardest): An 8. It does not feel like they have enough employees. It is very difficult to get a response for our concerns, questions, etc.
Favorite downtown business that isn’t yours: The Balboa Theatre.
If our business was made into a movie, it would be called: World-Famous Bandar, starring my lovely wife Shokooh.
Best insider tip for running a downtown SD business: Make sure the city has a need for your type of business. SDSun
