Immigrant. Dropout. Entrepreneur. Restauranter. Real estate developer. Movie producer. Philanthropist.
These are only a few titles Izek Shomof, the so-called King of Spring Street, has carried throughout his fascinating life. Each of these monikers tells a part of Izeks unbelievable tale, but the whole story has never been tolduntil now.
Dreams Dont Die is not your typical, run-of-the-mill immigrant story. It is the memoir of a man who had every opportunity to take unethical and often-illegal shortcuts but who instead chose the lesser-trod path of honesty and integrity. Its the story of a young man who poured his blood, sweat, and tears into the city he loved, transforming not only buildings but lives in the processstarting with his own.
From serving drinks in backroom Israeli casinos to buying an entire city block of downtown Los Angeles, Izeks life has been anything but traditional. Between flipping burger joints, building tract homes, and renovating historic California high-rises, Izek has come face-to-face with some particularly problematic elements of his family treeincluding organized crime, Mob enforcers, hit men, drug cartels, bank robbers, and history-making embezzlement schemes. The sordid adventures of Izeks family have even become the subject of not one but two film productionsa major Hollywood motion picture starring James Caan and a blockbuster Israeli documentary series. Izeks life proves that even in the face of dream-killing obstacles, with hard work, steadfastness, and tenacity, dreams dont have to die.
