Westlake Restaurateur Settles Lawsuit Against the State

Before Sept. 11, Westlake resident Tony George never really felt discrimination because of his Syrian-American heritage.

After all, he owns nearly a dozen restaurants in Ohio, has served on prestigious boards related to Arab-American relations and hosted Gov. Bob Taft and President Bill Clinton at his home.

But, after Sept. 11, things changed.

George— a Catholic who was born and raised in Lakewood— alleges that state liquor control agents began unfairly targeting his restaurant chain, , looking for violations.

He believes he was singled out because of his Syrian heritage. When questioned about the inspections, George said he was instead asked about terrorism. Turns out, the state made an error regarding men with the same surname who have ties to terrorism. 

“I never thought that stuff went on until it happened to me,” he said. “I am not against Muslims. If you say the word Arab-American, they say Muslim. If you say the word Muslim, they say terrorism. It’s hard to overcome that.”

George settled a lawsuit last month with the Ohio Department of Public Safety which agreed to pay about $3,500 in fees. George had to pick up the tab for court costs.

In the lawsuit, agents denied singling out George because of his ethnicity, but George isn’t buying it.

At his Akron establishment, agents made 21 inspections between 2002 and 2004, according to the lawsuit. Inspectors searched his North Olmsted restaurant 13 times. 

During the same time, other establishments — with more complaints— were inspected only a couple of times.

“They continually harassed us,” he said. “They hurt our business.”

Julie Hinds, the spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Public Safety, said in an email that “no evidence was presented to support wrongdoing claims.”

“We have spent so much time (on this case) over the last six years, that we’re not going to spend any more time on it,” she said.

George said the legal battle cost him about $800,000. Harry Buffalo has 10 stores in Ohio — but he contends that the chain would have gone national if not for the legal case.

“If I didn’t have the money to fight, they would have destroyed us,” he said, adding that he decided to move the majority of his new business operations out of the state.

George— one of the most prominent Syrian-American business leaders in the state— has been a key player in Syrian-American relations, and is a former board member of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

“This is the kind of stuff we used to defend,” he said. “I am morally obligated to not let this go.” 

“I am an American first— my heritage happens to be Syrian. . .  It’s the American part of me that wanted me to continue fighting— to never give up and never surrender. It’s my common sense as a business guy that told me enough is enough.”