A dream achieved: From menial labor to Panera exec.

COURTESY PANERA BREAD/HOWLEY BREADLIVING THE DREAM: Coming to the U.S. in 1984, Bahjat Shariff has worked his way from a cook at Kentucky Fried Chicken to now operating partner and senior vice president of operations of Panera Bread/Howley Bread Group.
COURTESY PANERA BREAD/ HOWLEY BREAD LIVING THE DREAM: Coming to the U.S. in 1984, Bahjat Shariff has worked his way from a cook at Kentucky Fried Chicken to now operating partner and senior vice president of operations of Panera Bread/Howley Bread Group.

In May 1984, Bahjat Shariff, born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, then in the midst of the 1982 Lebanon War, arrived in Los Angeles with a dream to start a new life in the United States, with the support of parents he left behind in his war-torn, native land.
He was just 18 years old and had only $300 in his pocket.
Twenty-eight years later, he holds the titles of operating partner and senior vice president of operations for a chain of 24 Panera Bread restaurant franchises. In June he was awarded the National Restaurant Association’s 2012 Faces of Diversity Dream Award, given to celebrate industry professionals who represent how hard work and determination can lead to achieving the ‘American dream.’
He became a United States citizen in 1994 and eventually was able to bring his parents to America, where two of his three siblings now also live.

PBN: What were your early days in the United States like?
SHARIFF: I left Lebanon in the middle of the war. My hope and chances were to do something else, somewhere else. All these years, looking back, it is absolutely crazy for an 18-year-old to come to a foreign country to go to school and try to support themselves. I had a couple of friends here as well and every one of us had our own situation. A couple of them had to go back and I opted not to [when] I got a call from my dad and [he] said, “I can’t send you any more money.” I started working two jobs, at a gas station, as a mail carrier for a private company that did overnights, at KFC. I just had to figure it out. I had to find a way to land on my feet.

PBN: Did you speak the language at all?
SHARIFF: I did, but not [well]. I went to an English-speaking school [in Lebanon] and our math and science classes were in English but it’s not the same [as living in an English-speaking country]. When I came here it took me a little while to figure out the dialogue. But it improved quite a bit, especially when I married my English-speaking wife, Zoila.

PBN: What has been your biggest challenge in becoming a successful United States businessman?
SHARIFF: There is a lot of competition. It’s a big pond and there are a lot of big fish. If you want to be successful, you have to be better than everyone else. You have to be willing to work hard and hire the sharpest people, or the bigger guys can [and will] do it better.

PBN: How have you worked to overcome that?
SHARIFF: I network a lot. I try to hire the best people you can hire. A lot of times we’ve hired people when we haven’t [had available jobs] and have created positions [for them]. We knew they were smart and they had a great track record and [that] they would help make us successful.

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PBN: Was the Providence-area business community welcoming?
SHARIFF: I think in every business you have to prove yourself and establish your name and a reputation. In [opening Panera locations] it took an easy year to 18 months for folks to figure out what Panera Bread is all about. We built relationships with the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, the Cranston Chamber of Commerce and the Rhode Island Hospitality Association. … [Our success] came with a lot of support by a lot of folks.

PBN: You won the Howley Bread Group 2011 Community Service Award and work often with Providence-based Children’s Friend. You also are a foster father to a 12-year-old and recently adopted his 4-year-old brother, both of whom are from Providence, in addition to raising four [other] children. Where does your feeling of responsibility to give back come from?
SHARIFF: A little bit was where I came from and a lot was from my parents. We were not well-off. My father was a carpenter and my mom made clothes at home. I felt like if I can help somebody, I’m providing them with an opportunity to grow, to be better and do bigger things in life. … We don’t want to forget, every day when we go home to a nice bed, a nice meal, the people who might need help. PBN: What has been your greatest accomplishment since coming to the United States?
SHARIFF: Running this franchise [to where it is]. I would say my second biggest is getting all my kids into college. Two have graduated, one is at the United States Merchant Marine Academy [in Kings Point, New York] and my daughter is going to Curry College [in Milton, Mass.]. That’s a big accomplishment. My smaller personal accomplishment is that I always wanted to be a pilot since I was four years old and I became a pilot in 2005.

PBN: How did it feel to win a national award recognizing your career?
SHARIFF: It was flattering and nice and really cool [and] I appreciate the award a lot. [But] you get up and give this [speech] and. … I’m not usually a person short for words, or shy. I was having a hard time. It was a little bit emotional trying to think back over 28 years.

PBN: The award is given to those who embody the “American dream.” What does that phrase mean to you and do you feel you have achieved it?
SHARIFF: [To me] it’s creating opportunities for my family. It’s not a desk job [or] just working every day. If we didn’t start our own company, I’m not sure what I would be doing, quite frankly, what would [have] happened to me if I were still in Lebanon. Not this, that’s for sure. … My mom used to say to me, ‘Try hard. Be somebody.’ That stayed with me and I couldn’t allow myself to fail or fall into trouble or to [just] have fun. I felt like I had a responsibility and that I’ve managed it very well. •

INTERVIEW
Bahjat Shariff
POSITION: Operating partner and senior vice president of operations, Panera Bread/Howley Bread Group
BACKGROUND: Shariff fled his native, war-torn Lebanon at the age of 18, in 1984, to try his hand at the American Dream. After 10 years at Kentucky Fried Chicken, he worked his way from cook to market manager. In 1994, he accepted a position with Au Bon Pain. He joined Bertucci’s, the Massachusetts-based, pizza restaurant, as a regional manager in 1998. When Au Bon Pain renamed itself Panera Bread, Shariff formed a partnership with a former colleague, Tom Howley, and his brother, Lee. The trio opened their first Panera Bread franchise, under the Howley Bread Group, in Cranston in December 2001. They now operate 24 Panera Bread restaurants in Rhode Island, southeastern Massachusetts and the Hartford, Conn., area.
EDUCATION: Associate degree in computer science from Citrus College, Glendora, Calif., 1987
FIRST JOB: Cook at Kentucky Fried Chicken
RESIDENCE: Cumberland
AGE: 47

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