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Private company

Moby Dick

Kabob restaurant chain

Moby Dick House of Kabob (Persian: موبی دیک: خانه کباب) is a Persian kabob restaurant chain in the Washington metropolitan area. It is named after a restaurant in Tehran which was right near the American Embassy during the Pahlavi dynasty; that restaurant was closed after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. The restaurant continues across from what is now the Artists' Forum in the city, becoming a popular place for many.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1989Founded1

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Moby Dick House of Kabob (Persian: موبی دیک: خانه کباب) is a Persian kabob restaurant chain in the Washington metropolitan area. It is named after a restaurant in Tehran which was right near the American Embassy during the Pahlavi dynasty; that restaurant was closed after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. The restaurant continues across from what is now the Artists' Forum in the city, becoming a popular place for many.2

The story

Founder Mike Daryoush emigrated to the United States from Iran in 1975. He opened a small sandwich shop in 1987 in Bethesda, Maryland, serving a few Middle Eastern dishes. He changed to a Persian menu and added a clay oven in 1990. The name references one of the biggest kabob joints in Tehran, which was right near the American Embassy during the Shah's time. It was called Moby Dick, apparently because the owner really liked the book. The newest location opened in Annapolis in 2024. Daryoush died of heart failure on May 9, 2019, only a week after the chain's 30th anniversary.

From Wikipedia’s article on Moby Dick (restaurant), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

  • Iranian cuisine

Listed on Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1989Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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