Today we’d like to introduce you to Farah Al-Shalchi.
Hi Farah, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My name is Farah and I met my husband in my hometown of Baghdad in the late nineties.
We are a husband and wife team with two different educational backgrounds- mine is in education while my husband was in accounting.
We took over the business from the previous owner who had it for only about 6 months when he put it up for sale. My husband and I started this business in December 2003. We transformed a hang out hookah spot to cafe serving authentic charcoal grilled items and fresh salads and appetizers in addition to hookahs.
My husband Abdulmajeed comes from a family of kabab makers – he is third generation of this trait. We wanted to bring in the essence of Iraqi kababs to San Antonio. Over the course of 23 years we have grown from our original space to a very large space including the covered patio and non-smoking restaurant only side- both feature the same food menu.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been a long road of many challenges.
First of all, ingredients are at times a task – we make everything fresh and authentic so we use our spices and pastes from the Middle East.
Also, managing laborers is a huge challenge because although expectations are clear – the carrying out of these duties is many times difficult. The restaurant industry has constant turnover since the majority of the labor force is not permanent, rather temporay employment.
Also, COVID-19 changed the way we work- supplies, workers’ attitudes, and prices continue to pose challenges for us.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have a masters degree in education: I focused on Culturally responsive education. I tested students for English language proficiency at the college level for several years and then resigned due to my responsibilities with the cafe.
I also have a passion for cooking since I was young.
I am involved with my husband in our recipes we use for the cafe. We try out flavor profiles and keep our food authentic in flavor but may add a small twist to enhance the various items. I help cook large catering or large party orders.
In addition, I manage the paperwork, invoices, bills, and much of the ordering.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
The most quality to our success is that we believe if we can’t serve our family this food we can’t serve it to you.
We make our food fresh with the way we do it back home.
We don’t use fillers but quality ingredients and anyone who tastes the food can feel the difference.
Pricing:
- Appetizers start at 6.99-22.99
- Salads 6.99 and up
- Sandwiches 7.99-12.99
- Entrees 12.99-27.99
- Desserts 5.99-10.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shishacafesa.com
- Instagram: @shishacafesa
- Facebook: Shisha Cafe San Antonio
