Doomed restaurant?

I used to live in an apartment across the street from a restaurant called the Persian Room. They did some things right – there weren’t any Persian/mid-eastern restaurants in the vicinity, the menu’s great for what it is, and the ambiance is decent. The only problem is that it opened the week of 9/11/2001. Nobody in Scottsdale, or America, for that matter, wanted to support middle eastern anything for months after 9/11. My husband and I gave it the sign of the cross the day it opened. Every day I would drive by and see an empty restaurant. However, it’s 6 ½ years later and the restaurant is now going strong. How did they overcome 9/11? Word got out that they have a fantastic product – good food, good service, they filled a niche, plus they must have had some deep pockets.