Natalie Schwartz’s smile widens into a full-fledged ear-to-ear grin when she’s welcoming customers and they recognize her as the namesake of Natalie’s Taste of Lebanon.
“Natalie loves interacting with our customers,” says her mom Dr. Anne-Marie Irani, who opened the restaurant in 2016 with her husband Dr. Larry Schwartz, to provide an employment opportunity for Natalie, who has Williams syndrome, a genetic condition, and other people who have disabilities.
Natalie, like many people with the condition, is outgoing with an engaging personality and an interest in other people.
When she’s working and has a moment to spare from her hostess duties, Natalie walks over to each table and has short conversations with diners, chatting about everything from the menu to the Lebanese culture.
“She loves talking about one of the folkloric dances of Lebanon, the dabke, an Arabic word for stomping, “ Irani says, adding that Natalie also loves watching belly dancers from belly dance schools in Richmond perform at the restaurant on Tummy Tuesday, the last Tuesday of each month.
Originally located in the west end of Henrico, the restaurant moved to its current location in Stratford Hills Shopping Center in April 2022. It is the former location for Max’s Positive Vibe Café, a restaurant that trained and employed individuals with disabilities. Even though the cafe closed, the foundation remained intact, continuing the training program for two years at Natalie’s.
“Natalie went through the program when she was at Douglas Freeman High School,” Irani says.
Even though the training program at Positive Vibe Foundation has evolved over time, students still come to Natalie’s once or twice a month. “Natalie will show them around and talk about her role as hostess,” Irani says.
Up to 25 percent of the restaurant’s workforce are people with special needs. “We also partner with other nonprofits with a common theme – to help with populations with special needs,” Irani says.
One of those organizations is Jacob’s Chance, which works with individuals five to forty years old who have developmental and/or intellectual disabilities with or without physical disabilities through inclusive programming. The organization held a cooking program at Natalie’s and is also offering Art from the Heart with Art on Wheels at the restaurant.
The restaurant also works with Good Foods Grocery, which was purchased in 2023 by the nonprofit Commonwealth Autism. The grocery store now serves as a learning center for people with autism, helping them learn skills toward employment.
“We will soon start selling our hummus, Toum (garlic sauce), and our red pepper Muhammara dip in the market,” Irani says. “We are talking about working together so we can provide employment for some of their graduates from their program. That is what distinguishes Natalie’s. We really focus on the employment part.”
Irani is starting to approach other nonprofit organizations with goals similar to Natalie’s — the Nest Academy, Medical Home Plus, Virginia Ability, and J. P. Jumpers — to help with fundraising and to raise awareness. In the past, the restaurant has hosted Positively Delicious a fundraiser for Positive Vibe Foundation where multiple chefs donate their time and food.
“Natalie is often called on to speak at these events to share her experience with participating in the training program that influenced her decision to go into the hospitality industry,” Irani says.
Retired from her full-time faculty position at VCU, Irani has taken on a larger role with the restaurant, serving as general manager.
“Honestly, if we need servers, I serve. If we need bussers, I will bus,” she says.
Natalie’s menu has evolved over time. While the classic Mediterranean dishes the restaurant is known for are still being served, Natalie’s has instituted different menus at lunch and dinner.
“We have more vegan and vegetarian options,” Irani says. “In addition, we are doing wine dinners almost every month with Lebanese and Barboursville wines, etc. We develop special menus for these.”
The restaurant has also come up with a concept for pop-up dinners with various themes called Voyages by Natalie’s. “We take you around the world with food. We have an amazing chef, Chef Alex Vazquez. He’s very talented. We’ve had New Orleans, Persian, and Armenian pop-up dinners so far,” Irani says.
On days when Natalie’s is closed, the restaurant is open for other chefs to come in and take over the restaurant with their own pop-up dinners.
In keeping with its mission, Natalie’s also offers live music. “That’s part of the whole concept,” Irani says. “Our principle mission is to work with young people with special needs. The second part of it is to promote culture.”
Featured music includes jazz, classical, Middle Eastern, folk, the blues, and reggae. “We’ve added a brunch on Saturday and Sunday with live piano music on Saturday,” Irani says.
She and Natalie love the special family feel the restaurant exudes. “We have a small enterprise and a small group of employees,” she says. “It’s wonderful to get to know each other and to work together.”
