Artist and restauranteur with cerebral palsy inspiring others to “overcome”

Azalea is an Iranian restaurant in Montreal named after a Montreal visual artist and restauranteur with cerebral palsy – Azalia Kaviani.

Her goal is to live her life to its full purpose and inspire others.

“I want to spread this message to the public: That if I can overcome, you can too,” said Azalia Kaviani. “I believe that opening this restaurant has created this opportunity to show that we are all the same and nobody can make you feel down unless you want.”

“Azalia, [has inspired me] all of my life, she tries so hard for everything. She makes me want to go on more and more,” said Fanny Esfahani, Azalia’s mother, and co-owner of Azalea restaurant.

For Azalia, life has a purpose. Hers is to better herself daily, achieve her goals, and share her message of hope: To believe in yourself and never give up.

She knows a thing or two about resilience. Her neuro-motor disease affects her muscles, making it hard to do perform physical tasks – but that doesn’t stop her.

Her mother Fanny wanted more for her daughter than what society allowed her to do.

“It wasn’t easy but since I saw that Azalia has lots of talent and I see that she was always rejected from other people to work. I said okay let’s do it, let’s open a business where you can work,” said Esfahani.

In a world built for the able-bodied and the neurotypical,  Azalia chooses to break boundaries and set her own rules.

She draws, paints, dances, writes, and runs a restaurant no less.

Azalia takes care of administration, marketing, and greeting guests.

“If the world is full of suffering, there is overcoming,” said Kaviani.

“Azalia has too many problems but she is very positive and is going on,” said Esfahani.

“I have advice for the public, to never give up on the path that you want to,” said Kaviani.