For Ned Daryoush ’15, the family restaurant has been the backdrop to nearly every chapter of his life.
His father, Mike Daryoush, immigrated from Iran to the United States in the mid-1970s and studied to be an electrical engineer, but his true passion was always the restaurant business. He eventually took a leap of faith and opened Moby’s Luncheonette, a small deli in Bethesda, Maryland. When the business struggled, Mike returned to his roots, building a traditional clay tandoor oven to bake fresh pita. The change was a turning point. He shifted to a Persian-inspired menu, and Moby Dick House of Kabob has been thriving ever since.
“My dad always used to say the name is doing its job because people are talking about it,” Daryoush jokes.
While he never got the full story on the name, Daryoush knows it was inspired by a restaurant in Iran. His father believed the name would feel familiar to others who shared his cultural background.
“My father was a big personality, and hospitality is what drove him to do what he did,” says Daryoush. “He loved taking care of people. It was a passion that turned into this successful thing. I don’t think he ever imagined it becoming as huge as it has.”
Today, Moby Dick House of Kabob has grown to more than 30 locations throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including 16 in Virginia.
Daryoush always knew he would one day help lead the family business. Throughout high school and during breaks from college and football practice, he worked alongside his father, learning every aspect of the operation. After graduating from Lehigh, he celebrated on a Saturday and reported to work full time on Monday morning.
In 2019, Daryoush’s father passed away unexpectedly. While Daryoush was still grieving, the COVID-19 pandemic brought another major challenge.
“It was a trial by fire for me,” says Daryoush. “But it’s a credit to what my dad built that we survived. We’ve always been a takeout- and delivery-first kind of place. That model happened to fit the moment, and we were able to sustain our success. Once things settled, we got right back into growth mode.”
Like his father before him, Daryoush has grown to love the fast-paced nature of the restaurant industry and the sense of community it creates. He knows firsthand that restaurants are often the setting for life’s celebrations, traditions, and everyday moments, and that perspective continues to fuel his passion.
Outside of work, Daryoush is married with two young children. He jokes that his wife has an “honorary Lehigh degree” after spending so much time on campus while they dated throughout college. Although he doesn’t make it back to campus often, he still follows Lehigh athletics and returns for Le-Laf.
Despite the company’s continued success, Daryoush isn’t slowing down. He plans to open new locations, expand through franchising, and continue building on the foundation his father created. With every new restaurant, he’s honoring his dad’s legacy of hospitality while building one of his own.
