By Keaton Hills
When former Ottawa mayor Jackie Holzman walked into the Newport Restaurant during a recent interview with owner Moe Atallah, she had a suggestion: he should be mayor.
She was joking, but the interruption offered a glimpse of the friendships Atallah has built over nearly four decades at the Westboro restaurant.
While he turned 80 on Sept. 29, the longtime restaurateur is still coming to the Newport six days a week. Even Mondays, when the restaurant is closed, he’s there for cleaning or maintenance.
His workload has eased. These days, much of his time is spent watching over the restaurant, greeting customers and catching up with friends. He helps where needed, but the people remain the reason he comes through the door.
“I always have a big family here,” he said.
That family recently helped pull off a birthday surprise, even though Atallah had tried to avoid a large celebration.
His 70th birthday had been marked with a fundraiser, and longtime friend Michael O’Byrne wanted to do something similar for his 80th.
O’Byrne, a familiar face to many Ottawa residents after spending 38 years at CTV Ottawa, including as a longtime news anchor, knew Atallah planned to be away from the city on his actual birthday. So he found another date.
In early August, O’Byrne gathered guests in his backyard while Atallah believed he was heading out for dinner with his wife Donna and friends.
The evening was supposed to include a stop to pick up O’Byrne. When they arrived, Atallah was told their dinner was delayed and they might have a drink first.
Then the garage door opened.
Atallah noticed legs, followed by more legs, before his granddaughter came running toward him. For a moment, he could not understand why she was there.
“I never thought it’s connected to my birthday,” he said. “But then I realized after, and that was the biggest surprise of my life, really.”
The celebration brought together people from different parts of his life. Atallah and O’Byrne had travelled together and shared many dinners over the years, but this was one occasion when his friend had managed to keep him entirely in the dark.
Among the guests were Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and former mayor Jim Watson. An Elvis performer provided the music, a fitting accompaniment for a man whose charitable work has long been connected to the Elvis Sighting Society.
Building a life in Ottawa
Atallah’s affection for Canada goes back nearly half a century, to his arrival from Lebanon — a day he remembers as the best of his life.
He initially stayed in Montreal, where his brother lived, but did not want to become a financial burden. With a friend in Ottawa, he decided to move here and began building a life in the city he has called home ever since.
Atallah had experience in the restaurant industry before arriving in Canada and quickly returned to the business. He worked in Ottawa restaurants before eventually opening the Newport in 1988.
Over the years, the restaurant became a place where Atallah came to know customers and their families through weddings, anniversaries and other milestones.
Some of those customers have died. Others now arrive with children of their own, remembering visits with their grandparents or great-grandparents. Watching those connections continue across generations is something he finds deeply moving.
His contribution to the community has also been recognized beyond the restaurant’s walls. Atallah was among the inaugural recipients of the Order of Ottawa in 2012, an honour recognizing residents who have made significant contributions to the city. Six years later, then-mayor Jim Watson presented him with the Key to the City for his charitable work.
Much of that community work had an unlikely connection: Elvis Presley.
Donna was a devoted fan, with albums and photographs that prompted Atallah to tease her about when his own picture might take their place. His friendship with journalist and fellow Elvis enthusiast Earl McRae eventually helped turn that shared interest into community fundraising.
Together, Atallah and McRae co-founded the Elvis Sighting Society, which became known for raising money for local causes
Through the society, they organized golf tournaments and dinners. For Atallah, the work was a way of thanking a country and city that had welcomed him.
The restaurant’s Christmas meals grew from the same impulse.
What began as an effort to thank the community eventually drew scores of volunteers eager to help, with people returning year after year to support the tradition.
At its peak, Atallah recalls serving about 1,500 people on Christmas Day. He credits the volunteers and broader community with making that possible.
When the Newport left its longtime Richmond Road location for a smaller restaurant at Churchill Avenue and Scott Street, there was no longer enough room to host the same gathering. The move, announced in 2012, took the Newport from a roughly 125-seat restaurant to one with fewer than 100 seats.
The Christmas tradition continued in another form through Meals on Wheels, with meals delivered to seniors who might otherwise have been alone during the holidays. Atallah said that effort has since stopped.
Running a restaurant for nearly four decades has required other adjustments, too. Atallah has watched customers move toward lighter meals, salads and fresh vegetables, and believes staying attentive to their tastes is part of doing the job well.
What has remained constant is his enjoyment of the work. A successful restaurant needs good recipes, he said, but its owner must also love the job and the people who come through the door.
For all the years behind him, Atallah has little interest in spending his days at home. He intends to keep coming to the Newport for as long as he is able.
When people ask what he would do if he won a large lottery prize, his first thought is to open another restaurant.
Retirement holds less appeal.
“As long as I can come to work, I will not retire,” he said.