Samir's Story

Samir Akel is a full-time twin, boss and entrepreneur. Samir’s big sense of humor and positive personality allows him to effortlessly help and motivate others around him. Samir is known to always say— Never Give Up.

 

 

Samir was born and raised in a Christian home in Syria. In 2011, Samir obtained his marketing degree and spent one year post graduation working with his father alongside his brother in numerous family ventures. These businesses include overseeing several enterprises such as restaurants, clubs, and rental properties. Due to the war, Samir had to flee Syria and relocate to Los Angeles, California.

It was a tremendously difficult time for him to move to a new country. Not to mention, how difficult it was leaving his home, friends, family, and businesses. Samir was left jobless and all he had alongside was his twin brother Samer.

After nearly two years in the country, Samir was finally granted a work visa and hired as a mover. Samir started working at a UPS store, a liquor store, a dental office, and as a background extra in the film industry after continuing to master different crafts.

During this time, a woman turned a small garage into a bedroom and rented it out to Samir and his twin brother. When Samir's father paid a visit, he was dissatisfied with the way they were living. After they had completed an internship at another deli, Samir's father was finally able to open a small deli for him and his brother to run. The twins spent a full year training full time from 9 a.m to 9 p.m. They worked Monday through Saturday and were fortunate to have Sundays off.

With the support of his family in establishing the deli, Samir and Samer were blessed enough to open more restaurants in Los Angeles. The twins now own a total of 5 restaurants, 3 being the well known, Crave Cafe. The opening of their Cafe’s allowed them to establish new friendships and build new connections for future endeavors.

Samir and his twin brother were filmed for a TV show called "Twin Love" that you can watch on Amazon Prime. Samir is continuously working on new projects.