Columbia, Mo. ? The Canhasi family rarely takes a day off work, but recently they had an appointment with Uncle Sam they didn’t want to miss.

For the former Kosovar refugees, U.S. citizenship tests took precedence over the lunch crowd at their new restaurant, Felini, in downtown Columbia. Bekim Canhasi, who shares ownership of Felini with his brother Ilir, said all 12 family members who escaped southwestern Kosovo in 1999 during the Kosovo War are now U.S. citizens.

U.S. citizenship is something the Canhasi family can smile about. After all, in the past several years, they have lived through a war, been driven from their home and country and had their restaurant in Kosovo — also called Felini — seized and destroyed.

The Canhasis opened Felini in Columbia about seven months ago — just as soon as they had earned enough money from their former jobs at a Mexico, Mo., frozen foods factory.

The U.S. government matched the Canhasi family with a man from Mexico, Mo., who sponsored them as war refugees. Once in Missouri, the family was free to move around, but Bekim reasoned his wages and the town’s low living costs made it a good place to build capital for his restaurant.

Self-sufficiency pays

The Canhasis saved enough over four years to open the restaurant without a single loan. Bekim said the family has invested more than $80,000 in Felini, saving money on renovation costs by doing the electrical, plumbing and interior design himself.

At the plant operated by Dawn Food Products, formerly Bunge Foods, he often worked seven days a week, 12 hours a day, operating heavy machinery for mixing dough.

“It was work, sleep, work, sleep,” Bekim said. “We had no fun. Clothes didn’t matter anymore. You just wear your work uniform.”

His two brothers still work at the plant. At Felini, Bekim and his wife, Leonora, who makes desserts and serves tables, are still working long hours, typically 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. or later every day. Since relocating to the U.S., the couple has had two children, now ages 4 and 1.

Bekim and Leonora believe the sacrifices will pay off because they will be able to provide better for their children.

“It was hard, but when you dream for something, it is the most important thing,” Leonora said, “more important than a new dress or whatever.”

Bekim and his sister and brother do most of the cooking, which they learned from their mother.

Two of the most popular dishes at Felini are sarma, or stuffed grape or cabbage leaves with ground beef, onions, rice and spices, and tava saute — a saute of vegetables topped with cheese and baked.

Cinematic inspiration

Bekim named Felini after his favorite Italian moviemaker, Federico Fellini, who is famous for writing and directing the 1960 classic “La Dolce Vita.” Bekim took one ‘l’ out of Felini to make it phonetically correct in his ethnic language, Albanian.

Bekim said he saw himself in Fellini.

“He was not always famous,” Bekim said. “He started from scratch and had a lot of obstacles. Our troubles were a hell of a lot bigger than his, but…”

Ethnic Albanians who wanted autonomy for Kosovo openly rebelled against Serbian rule in 1998. Tensions between the two groups increased after Serbs rejected NATO demands to send peacekeeping troops into Kosovo, and NATO began bombing Serbian infrastructure in March 1999.

Within days, Serbian troops began ethnic cleansing campaigns, and tens of thousands of Kosovar Albanians evacuated Kosovo, bringing accounts of killings, atrocities and forced expulsions.

“It was a difficult time,” Bekim said. “NATO was bombing the Serbs. In daylight, the Serbs were shooting door to door. In night, NATO bombed from the air.”

He said escaping the atrocities involved crossing minefields. “It’s worse than in the movies,” Bekim said. “I never go into details because ordinary people would say, ‘Can it be true?'”