Long-time friends Bader Al Kalooti, 31, and Fadel Belmahdi, 30 were at Al Kalooti’s for dinner one night, turning a juicy homemade beef brisket into a sandwich and raising the question: Why can’t meat like this be incorporated into sandwiches all the time, like shawarmas?
Lightbulb moment.
A few years after that dinner and the former bankers have packed in the day job and opened a shawarma restaurant in Dubai Marina called S’wich, serving what they describe as gourmet shawarmas in Marina View Towers, Dubai Marina, open from 11am-11pm daily (soon to be 24 hours).
“We believe that fast food doesn’t have to be bad for you; what we saw being offered outside, we didn’t agree with,” says Al Kalooti. “We wanted to provide people with something healthy, good and which tastes great.”
After months of recipe experiments, the co-founders achieved a way to deliver something with a gourmet taste in a very fast, effective way “and at a reasonable price” says Bahraini-born Al Kalooti.
No S’wich sandwich is more than Dh30, and the first four toppings are free.
What makes S’wich unique? “The food and the people — the employees make a difference, because they share the same vision, mission and passion as us. They are dedicated to showing up every day and giving 110 per cent and they’re here for the long run,” says Algerian Belmahdi. “For the food, it’s the special ingredients, flavour combinations, freshness of the organic veal, duck and beef.”
“And social approach to the shawarma,” Al Kalooti adds.
Their menu includes health facts beside each order. For example they use roasted pine nuts as toppings, telling diners they’re rich in vitamin A and lutein, which enhances vision.
Customers can customise their shawarmas and name it after themselves if the shawarma gains enough notoriety on social media feeds — for instance, the most number of likes on Facebook — and they will be rewarded with loyalty points.
Both Al Kalooti and Belmahdi did not anticipate the reception when the opening day for S’wich arrived on May 14. When asked what was next in store for them, the young co-founders said: “Oh we definitely plan to go international, but we are going to take it step by step.”
— Kuloud Boutros is an intern at Gulf News
