The Persian Kitchen That Survived Fire, Doubt, and Built a Culinary Legacy in NYC

The smoke was still rising when Reza Parhizkaran stood outside his life’s work, watching eight years of dreams turn to ash.

It was September 2022. Shiraz Kitchen & Wine Bar—the beloved Persian restaurant in Elmsford that had earned a coveted New York Times review in 2016, three consecutive MICHELIN Bib Gourmand awards (2020, 2021, 2022), and a devoted following—was gone.

But Reza’s mind wasn’t on insurance claims or lost revenue. It was back in his childhood kitchen, watching his mother’s hands work dough, smelling the perfume of saffron, cardamom, and rose water rising like a memory.

“Fire can destroy buildings,” he would later say. “It cannot destroy recipes that live in your blood.”

---

From a Family Kitchen in Iran to New York’s Restaurant Scene

Reza’s story begins not with ambition, but with a hunger—the kind that has nothing to do with food.

Growing up in Iran, the kitchen was the heart of the home. His father grilled lamb over glowing coals; his mother orchestrated flavors like a symphony—barberries sparkling in rice, fresh herbs chopped with precision, saffron blooming in warm water like liquid gold.

“Every meal was a love letter,” Reza recalls. “Every dish told our story.”

The table was always open to one more guest. Neighbors became friends over bowls of ghormeh sabzi. Strangers became family before dessert.

When Reza left for college and traveled the world, he carried those flavors like a compass. In Mediterranean markets, he’d close his eyes and be back in his mother’s kitchen. In New York’s fine-dining rooms, he’d taste skill but hunger for soul.

---

The Leap of Faith: Taking Over a Failing Restaurant

Elmsford, New York.
A tired Persian restaurant with more empty tables than full ones. The food was forgettable, the service indifferent, the energy flat.

“When I first walked in, I could see the potential,” Reza says. “But it wasn’t living up to what Persian food should be. It wasn’t telling our story.”

Everyone warned him it was a bad idea. “If they couldn’t make it work, what makes you think you can?”

But Reza saw more than mismatched plates and stale menus. He saw a chance to bring his mother’s kitchen to life.

He overhauled the menu, sourced fresh ingredients, retrained the staff, and poured himself into the details—every plate, every garnish, every welcome at the door.

Opening night drew twelve guests. The next night, eight. By the third, Reza was calling friends and cousins, saying, “Just come for the rice. I’ll pour the wine.”

Slowly, word began to spread—not through luck or gimmicks, but through the oldest marketing in the world: people tasting something unforgettable and telling someone else. A couple celebrating an anniversary told their neighbors. A visiting family posted a glowing online review. A local food blogger came in, then returned the next week with friends.

Weekends began to fill. Then weeknights. Within months, Shiraz Kitchen was no longer the place people passed by—it was the Westchester dining destination they sought out.

---

The Bold Expansion: Wine Bar

By 2018, the restaurant was thriving. That’s when Reza made what many called a crazy move—he expanded the Elmsford location to open a full wine bar.

“People thought I’d lost my mind,” he laughs. “A Persian restaurant with a wine bar in Westchester? Who was going to come for that?”

But Reza had a vision: a place where saffron-scented stews could share the table with a glass of crisp Assyrtiko, where biodynamic wines from around the world could meet the bold, herb-laced flavors of Persian and Mediterranean cuisine.

The gamble paid off. The wine bar became a gathering spot for date nights, celebrations, and adventurous wine lovers—cementing Shiraz as more than just a restaurant, but a full dining experience.

---

The New York Times Review That Changed Everything

“A Persian Renaissance at Shiraz Kitchen.”
That was the New York Times headline. The review called it “Very Good”—one of the paper’s highest ratings—and praised Reza for creating “a restaurant that feels like home, even if you’ve never been to Iran.”

The phones didn’t stop ringing. Reservations booked out weeks in advance. Food Network came calling. And the MICHELIN Guide awarded Bib Gourmand honors three years in a row.

---

When Dreams Went Up in Smoke

September 2, 2022. Around midnight.

The call came: “There’s been a fire.”

It wasn’t in Reza’s kitchen. Investigators later traced it to arsine gas that leaked and ignited in the print shop next door, sending flames racing through the block. By the time Reza arrived, fire trucks lined the street, smoke curled into the night sky, and Shiraz was gone.

The smell of chemical smoke clung to his clothes for weeks.

Then came the second blow: the aftermath.

The landlord was uncooperative. The insurance company buried him in delays, disputes, and cold, technical language. The fight to rebuild was exhausting.

“I was heartbroken,” Reza says. “You work so hard for something, and in one night it’s gone. But then you realize the hardest part isn’t the loss—it’s what comes after.”

Even in that dark chapter, customers reached out—emails, calls, handwritten notes—all urging him to rebuild.

---

The Phoenix Rises in White Plains

April 27, 2023. White Plains, New York.

Shiraz returned—bigger, brighter, bolder. The Persian-Mediterranean menu was back, joined by an unexpected twist: a sushi bar. Skeptics doubted it. But within months, food bloggers were calling it “the best sushi in Westchester County.”

What remained unchanged was the magic: the warmth, the welcome, the sense of home.

---

The Manhattan Dream: Shiraz Kitchen & Wine Bar in Chelsea

Even before the fire, Reza had been working on another dream: Manhattan.

In 2019, he signed a lease in Chelsea for an intimate wine bar offering Mediterranean mezze and biodynamic wines. The pandemic delayed the opening by nearly a year.

When it finally opened in late 2020, New York was still quiet. But little by little, word spread. Date nights started there. Pre-theater dinners turned into evenings that lasted until the last sip of wine.

Today, weekends are fully booked weeks ahead.

---

More Than Food: Creating a Sense of Belonging

Ask Reza what Shiraz is really selling, and he’ll pause.

“We serve food, yes. But what we’re really offering is belonging.”

From sourcing ingredients from local farms and trusted international suppliers, to curating wines for perfect pairings instead of profit margins, to hosting events like Burger & Burgundy, every detail supports that vision.

---

The Story Continues

With two thriving locations—Shiraz Kitchen White Plains and Shiraz Kitchen Chelsea NYC—plus national recognition from MICHELIN and the press, Reza’s vision has grown beyond what he imagined.

But he’s not done. “Every city has people hungry for connection,” he says. “Food is just the excuse to bring them together.”

Today, countless regulars have their own stories of discovery at Shiraz Kitchen.

And in the kitchen, Reza’s hands still move with the same rhythm his mother taught him—proof that some recipes are fireproof.

The table is set. Your seat is waiting.

Shiraz Kitchen & Wine Bar
White Plains, NY | Chelsea, NYC
Award-winning Persian & Mediterranean cuisine. Where every meal tells a story—and every guest becomes family.