A man who escaped violence in the Middle East is celebrating a new chance at life in New Jersey.

Mohammed Hlal now owns a new Arab-food themed restaurant in Paterson. He and city officials cut the ribbon on it over the weekend.

Hlal fled Syria and now lives as a refugee from the war-torn country.

"I miss Syria of course but, it’s not a safe place for my kids,” says Hlal. “I don’t think about myself a lot, but my kids, I have four kids. American people here is very, very friendly, it’s my home already."

At least 13 million Syrians have been displaced since the country's civil war began nearly a dozen years ago.