Oakton Business Owner Discusses Once Being Famous in His Home Country

Mowafak Alshagra, owner of in Oakton, tells the Washington Post what it's been like to go from a famous water polo coach in Iraq to relative anonymity after immigrating to the U.S.

Alshagra said he is sometimes recognized, mostly by Iraqis, for his years coaching Iraq’s water polo and diving teams from 1984 to 1991.

"Just in my deep inside, I feel a little bit sad when they see me inside the kitchen and not coaching. . . . They say, ‘Oh, Coach Mowafak, you’re not coaching anymore?’ It’s a little bit hard for me to hear that," Alshagra told the Post.

To read the full article, click here. A photo essay can be found here.