Meet Nadyar Zawiti, the owner of Trump Fish, a-one-of-a-kind eatery nestled in Dohuk, Iraq. Its menu has nothing to do with the highly-publicized president-elect, but still, the restaurant’s logo speaks volumes.
The logo of Trump’s face was taken from a parody published on Uproxx’s website in 2015 when Trump’s face was infused into the logo of every NFL team. For the NFL fans out there, the characteristic San-Diego lightning bolts can be seen framing Trump’s face.
While Uproxx may have viewed this as a light tease on the president-elect, Zawiti is very much in favor of this polarizing political figure. Zawiti, who is a Kurd residing in Dohuk, expressed favoritism towards Trump after he claimed that he was a “big fan of Kurdish forces” with an intent on wiping out ISIS.
The restaurant’s location in Dohuk is a mere hour’s drive from Mosul, where the bloodiest and most violent fighting is taking place with ISIS.
Like Trump, Zawiti is not afraid to voice his own opinion. “What I admire about his personality is that he’s decisive, he’s tough, and hopefully with that toughness he’ll finish ISIS off.”
He also claims that “Trump is beloved in (Iraqi) Kurdistan” and he someday hopes to open a Trump Fish near the White House.
While it is interesting to examine the political implications of this bold eatery (which opened recently at the start of December last year), a restaurant is still a business, and Zawiti confesses that his zest for the U.S. president is more of a marketing tool than anything else.
What This All Means
The widespread attention it has received on social media as well as in the local community has paid off. Zawiti runs the restaurant with his three brothers, and they hope that they’ve made the right decision with their branding.
Zawiti has received backlash, however, and multiple threats have accused him as posing as an American or Israeli spy.
At the end of the day, Zawiti just hopes that his restaurant will turn over profit. While his brand does most of the talking, perhaps the more overlooked aspect is the restaurant’s food–its specialty masgouf, fire-roasted carp, is a token dish in Iraq.
Aside from conflicting sentiments towards Trump himself, the fact that someone can sit down in a restaurant in Kurdistan, eat a nationally popular dish, under the logo of one of the most hated/beloved American political figures, is a curious phenomenon in itself. It seems that where food, business, and politics intersect, the result is mesmerizing.