© John Hilton

From La Shish to Sheesh

Former managers recreate a chain.

by Tony McReynolds

When Talal Chahine fled to Lebanon in 2005 to avoid charges of federal tax evasion and in 2006 was indicted for allegedly funneling money to terrorists, the La Shish Middle Eastern restaurant chain he'd founded went belly-up. And longtime La Shish restaurant managers Mike Ibrahim and Abe Tarini were left flat-footed, angry, and unemployed. But La Shish had a

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