Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Dover's Little Lebanon restaurant to reopen

Downtown restaurant Little Lebanon To Go will reopen after all.Roughly two weeks after the death of co-owner Amer Fakhoury and announcing
Roughly two weeks after the death of co-owner Amer Fakhoury and announcing the restaurant’s closure, the Fakhoury family says it reconsidered and is working toward a mid-October reopening.

“We were going through a bit of an emotional time,” said Zoya Fakhoury, one of Amer Fakhoury’s four daughters. “After, my family was thinking about it. My dad really loved the restaurant. He worked so hard on it. We don’t want to throw it away. We want to continue on everything he worked on.”

Zoya Fakhoury and her sister Guila said Friday they were persuaded to reconsider the closure by the outpouring of love and support they received from Little Lebanon patrons following their father’s death Aug. 17.

“Our customers are great,” said Zoya Fakhoury. “They’ve stuck with us. We don’t want leave them hanging.”

“It was hard thinking about this and making the decision,” said Guila Fakhoury, referencing comments she made last month in which she expressed it would be difficult emotionally for her family to operate the restaurant without her father. “I do know once we do open and go through those emotions, we’re going to be so happy and grateful to see those customers back.”

Amer Fakhoury, 57, succumbed to Stage 4 lymphoma at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. He died five months after U.S. officials freed him in March from a six-month detainment in his native Lebanon.

Lebanese officials had detained him Sept. 12, 2019, over allegations he tortured prisoners in the 1990s at the former Khiam Prison, a prison run by the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army.

Lebanon and Israel have been officially at war since Israel’s creation in 1948. Lebanon bans its citizens from traveling to Israel or having contact with Israelis.

Amer Fakhoury lost 80 pounds and developed Stage 4 cancer during his sixth-month detainment, which ended in March after the U.S. government threatened sanctions against the people and officials involved and a judge dismissed the charges against him.

The family, Amer Fakhoury’s attorney and U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, all maintained his innocence and said he was charged to further an anti-Israel political agenda.

Lebanese officials detained Amer Fakhoury Sept. 12 while he and his family were on vacation. The family closed Little Lebanon in late summer 2019 to take that vacation, intending it to be a temporary closure. The restaurant has been closed since.

Little Lebanon got its start in Somersworth in 2003 when Amer and wife Michelle purchased the former Quick To Go on High Street. They moved the business to 547 Central Ave. in Dover in 2011, and operated the business seven days a week with their daughters.

Local residents and business leaders have said Little Lebanon was a big hit, both for its food and the atmosphere that made it a neighborhood favorite.

Michelle Fakhoury will continue to cook her recipes and run the business when Little Lebanon reopens in mid-October, Zoya and Guila Fakhoury said. The family also will hire employees to help make sandwiches and operate the cash register.

Guila Fakhoury said hiring additional employees was part of her parents’ plans once they returned from the Lebanon vacation because Zoya, the youngest of the Fakhoury girls, graduated college and secured another job a few months before the vacation.

In addition to reopening the restaurant, the family plans to announce a special project in memory of Amer on Sept. 12, the one-year anniversary of the day he was detained.

“We’re preparing something in memory and honor of him,” said Guila Fakhoury, describing the project as something that will help others and help bring “joy” following a trying year.

More information will be posted about the project and restaurant’s reopening date at a later date on Little Lebanon To Go’s Facebook page.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×