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The fact that he has been running a successful business for more than 20 years is a testament to how hard Saboor Sahely is willing to work. And his restaurant, Angie's, in Logan is the fruit of his labors.
Saboor immigrated to the United States from Afghanistan in 1978, only a few days after communists took over the government in a violent military coup. He had been accepted to Utah State University. And with about $400 in his pocket, Saboor took a Greyhound bus from New York City to Logan. He realized as soon as he arrived that he had to find a way to earn money to pay for his school, so he moved to Salt Lake City and started working several jobs, including washing dishes at a restaurant.
To support himself during school, Saboor worked in a Logan restaurant and eventually became the assistant manager. By the time he graduated with his business degree in 1980, he was offered a store manager position. When the restaurant chain went bankrupt in 1983, Saboor purchased the building with the intention of opening his own restaurant. With great difficulty, he procured a small loan to renovate the building and he opened Angie's in October 1983.
Angie's has become a destination restaurant in the Cache Valley for visitors and locals alike. Some of the Logan eatery's customers dine there several times each day. The restaurant serves American cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Breakfast, including pancakes and homemade cinnamon rolls, is the most popular meal but daily soups, dinner rolls made from scratch and pies are also top sellers.
What has enabled Angie's to be so successful, Saboor says, is the superior level of customer service it offers. Each diner is treated with respect and dignity, no matter how much he spends. The stable workforce has been another factor in the restaurant's success; most of Angie's employees have been with the company for 10 years or longer.
Saboor hopes to maintain Angie's success by serving good, quality food and treating each customer as if he or she is the most important person in the world.
