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Afghan refugee opens restaurant in Knoxville spreading culture

Mohamad Hamdard spent years trying to gain citizenship in the United States. Now, his dream of owning a restaurant that spreads his Afghan culture has come true.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Sunday, a traditional Afghan restaurant opened in Knoxville. Its owner, Mohamad Hamdard, is a refugee from Afghanistan and is using food as a way to spread his culture.

Hamdard served as an interpreter for the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan. He was forced to leave his family and travel to Turkey in an attempt to acquire U.S. citizenship. Now, both Hammard and his family are U.S. citizens.

"I want this to be a way to bring two countries, Afghanistan and the United States together through a small way: food," Hamdard said.

The restaurant is funded by the nonprofit, Seeds and Bridges. Yassin Terou is a part of the nonprofit and took the lead in helping Mohammad's restaurant dream become a reality. Something that he said is beneficial for the whole community.

"It promotes diversity, [Rom's Room] will show love to the community and it could change some bad perceptions that we see people have across the world," Terou said. "I always say a shortcut to the heart is through the gut."

Mohammad said that Rom's Room is the only traditional Afghan restaurant in Knoxville. People throughout the community stopped by to support the restaurant.

"I'm so thankful for what he did for us as an interpreter in Afghanistan," one customer said. "I had to be here on the first day to support him."

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