Iraj Askarinam

From humble beginnings in Shiraz, Iran, Iraj emigrated in 1972 to the U.S. where he became a successful entrepreneur and business innovator. He and his brother had a great impact on the Adams Morgan community, opening one of the first restaurants in the area, The Spaghetti Garden in 1981, and playing a role in the revitalization of the neighborhood.

Iraj was a generous member of the community with an abiding dedication to feeding the hungry. Only those closest to him knew the extent of his enormous and quiet generosity.

The Spaghetti Garden, an iconic location for many years, was known by the Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle indigent population as a place where a warm meal would always be provided. Iraj handed out thousands of meals out over the course of the restaurant's existence. He was always ready to educate others about the need to help those less fortunate and continuously tried to help the indigent himself. He was especially close to the men who spent their days at the outdoor chess tables in Dupont Circle. Iraj was an excellent chess player and could often be found playing a game with whomever happened to be there – enjoying friendship and gamesmanship.

Iraj was a devoted father of two daughters to whom he dedicated his life, loving them as fiercely as anyone could ever be loved. In his later years, his grandchildren were the apples of his eye. He simply adored them and took his greatest joy from their company, watching them grow and sharing his wisdom about life. He also spoiled them whenever he had the chance.

He lived his life without a care for convention or impressing others. He did it his way. He loved deeply, he gave of himself and his heart with no expectations and no limits. He will live on in the lives that he touched and in the family that will never forget his infectious laugh, his kindness, his hugs, and the beauty that was him.

Iraj is survived by his daughters, Rachel Wagner and Elizabeth Makris, his sons-in-law Jacob and Nicolas, his grandchildren Matthew, Lucy, Leila and Nicolas Leo, and his six siblings.

In lieu of flowers, and in keeping with Iraj's lifelong commitment to helping the hungry, the family asks that donations be made to Bread for the City in his name.