On Feb. 27, Radwa Matar of Millersville officially opened the doors to Koshary Station, located at 4 S. Prince St., Millersville. The restaurant serves traditional dishes from Matar's native country of Egypt and marks the beginning of a new chapter in her career in the food industry.

The restaurant's main dish is koshary, a popular Middle Eastern street food that consists of pasta, rice, lentils, chickpeas, spiced tomato sauce and caramelized onions. Matar had tossed around the idea of starting her own restaurant and serving traditional cuisine from her home country since she first came to Lancaster in 2006. She gained experience while working in catering and commercial kitchens and worked in the cafeteria for Hempfield School District for several years while she lived in West Lancaster. Part of Matar's vision of the restaurant was born from her struggles with acclimating to a different culture and missing her hometown and family, most of whom still live there. She also noticed that few, if any, restaurants in the area offer specifically Egyptian food. Matar still visits her family in Egypt every two years, and regular video calls with family members allow her to stay connected with them, but being able to offer a part of her culture to the community has also helped her to abate feelings of homesickness.

Matar's husband, Mohamed Ibrahim, came to the United States in 2000 and found work as a machine operator for Kellogg's. He returned to Egypt, where he and Matar were married, and the couple moved to Lancaster together. Matar and Ibrahim moved to Millersville three years ago. Matar finally decided to realize her dream of opening a restaurant after leaving her position in a school cafeteria last year. "It's been my plan for a while," Matar said. "I was looking for the right place for a restaurant. It was a gift to find something so close to where I live."

Although the task of starting one's own business is daunting, Matar said that she is confident that she has the skills she needs to ensure Koshary Station's success. In addition to working in restaurants and cafeterias, Matar used to participate in Taste of the World in Lancaster city, where she and other Middle Eastern women would gather to prepare and serve dishes from their native countries.

"I gained so much experience in the industry. You get to know how a business is run and how to work with food," said Matar. "I used to serve over 300 children a day when I worked in a cafeteria and learned so much about serving people."

Matar noted that she was only able to open Koshary Station with the help and support of those in her life. Although Ibrahim works full time, he often steps in to help with the business. When Matar first started to plan for her business, she was encouraged by her friends Zaenab, Riham and Marwa, who helped with organization, prepping the food and lending her their cars to move into the new building. Matar added that she is also grateful for the support provided by her friends Mohamed, Yasser, Tamer, Bouchra and Nisreen. "Without my friends, I couldn't have done it. I'm so blessed to have them," Matar said. Despite the difficulty of starting a business from scratch, Matar is confident that she will build on her experience as a new business owner.

For more information, visit http://www.kosharystation.com.