Jonathan Kissinger

Being an English teacher allowed me to live abroad. As such, I could travel to many countries, including Libya, and discover many different cultures.

My name is Jonathan Kissinger, and I run my own restaurant.

I grew up in Missouri, USA, with a decent life like any other American. I then started thinking about living and working abroad. As soon as I finished studying at college, I worked as an English teacher abroad. My journey in teaching continued for ten years until I got bored, lost my passion for it, and no longer enjoyed it. Hence, I stopped.

I’ve always enjoyed the culinary business. So, I started toying with the idea of opening my own restaurant. During this time, I was in Tripoli, and opening a restaurant was extremely difficult due to having many competitors.

After a while, my wife and I visited Benghazi. I loved the city and the life there. I found that opening a restaurant was possible and could be very successful. Soon, we decided to stay. I chose the perfect spot and began the proper procedure immediately. However, it wasn’t easy. I dealt with many obstacles and challenges, which required lots of paperwork.

In the end, I opened my own restaurant "Wow! Burgers" in Benghazi. I hired an all-Libyan workforce and used local Libyan ingredients to prepare the meals and support the local economy. I’ve worked on introducing new ideas to the business, including an “eco-friendly restaurant” and “wasteless cooking” to be more environmentally friendly. Over a year later, my restaurant is doing very well, and the burgers have won the hearts of many Libyans.

Looking forward, I still have plans to live and work here. I want to expand and franchise into other environmentally friendly restaurants.