A New Direction for the Village Cafe

The , a long-standing Mom-and-Pop-style restaurant in the Centreville area, plans to expand its services soon with a new food truck that will hit the road in Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia.  

The new truck, dubbed the "Village Cafe Express," is the pet project of Shervin Aminifar, the son of Parviz and Rosemary Aminifar, who in 1996. Shervin has been working with his dad in the restaurant since he was 15, and felt that the time was right to strike out on his own. 

"My parents are behind me as far as support goes, but this is all me," Shervin said. "I’ve been working with my dad for such a long time, and he’s been taking care of me. I’ve gotten older now and hopefully I can give back to my parents for all they’ve done for me."

Shervin, 26, who graduated from George Mason University with a B.A. in business and a minor in I.T., has been working on the project since the end of April. Together with a partner, Sean Kash of Herndon, they custom-ordered a food truck with the Village Cafe colors and logo. It's been a time-consuming process that required Shervin to take a course and exam to obtain a food manager's license, make a trip to the health department and a license to sell food from the truck. 

“I must say the process has been pretty long, but it’s taught me a lot," said Shervin. 

The truck is in the last stages of preparation, but once it's finished, Shervin is hoping to sell food in Tyson's Corner, Reston, Washington, D.C. and other areas. He'll fill it up with the most popular items from the Village Cafe. The restaurant serves subs, gyros and other fare. 

He's hoping the final result will be a tribute to the hard work his parents have put into the restaurant for almost two decades. If it's a success, he knows it's largely due to what his father has taught him. 

"I owe my dad everything," he said. 

Correction: a previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the Village Cafe served pizza. That information was out-of-date. Also, it incorrectly stated that the restaurant opened in 1995; it opened in 1996. 

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