How a Dubai food hall became a lifeline for local musicians

Dubai: When Nicky Ramchandani posted on social media that his Dubai food hall was looking to offer paid gigs to local artists, his phone didn't stop. "Within five minutes, I had like 30 messages from 30 different musicians," he recalled.

The rush surprised him but perhaps it shouldn't have. Since March, the conflict stemming from the US-Israel-Iran war had prompted venues in the UAE to scale back events and pause live performances. The city is slowly reclaiming its music scene now but for artists living gig to gig, that temporary silence carried a cost most people hadn't stopped to consider.

Ramchandani was one of them, until a friend and local musician spelled it out. “It never came to my mind that this community was being affected too," he said. “There are so many artists with families and households to take care of, who needed a steady income." So, he decided to provide a lifeline.

On a Saturday morning at Neighbourhood Food Hall in Dubai Motor City, the results of that open call are on full display. Lana Hamideh, adjusts her microphone, fingers a few chords and eases into an acoustic cover of Britney Spears' Oops!... I Did It Again. Diners sway, a few sing along under their breath.

"I've only been performing live for a month," said Hamideh, a Montenegrin-Syrian architect and singer based in Dubai. "Getting a gig right now is a huge opportunity for me."

Despite a wave of desperate messages from some musicians offering to perform for any amount, Ramchandani and his team were firm, they would not take advantage.

"We had people messaging saying they would work for anything, but we didn't do that. We set up a budget for the entire month,  it's not 100 per cent of what they're used to, but it's 70 per cent, around Dh1,000 a day, and it's funded by us."

The response was immediate and at times, deeply personal. “One musician told us he had a ten-month-old child and that this would help cover his rent.”

For Ramchandani, his business was built on community, on bringing people together to support small, independent restaurants. Extending that same spirit to the city's local music scene felt like a natural next step.

One of those voices belonged to Mohammad Al Zarooni, an Emirati singer-songwriter who works as an HR professional and, in his free time, fronts indie pop and rock outfit Zarooni Sound Society. Al Zarooni has been pursuing music seriously for two years.

He discovered the initiative the way many do these days - mid-scroll. “I stumbled upon a video of the Neighbourhood Food Hall's open call,” he said.

"I thought it was an amazing initiative, blending breakfast with support for local artists. So I messaged them, and Nicky responded.”

But for Al Zarooni, it wasn't just about his own performance. It was about passing it on, spreading the word to emerging artists like Lana, who were equally in need of exposure.

“There are a lot of talented local musicians and artists in the UAE who need this right now," he said. “They get to showcase their talent, their songwriting and make a little income that had been set back.”

For those tempted to read it as a marketing exercise, Ramchandani is quick to set the record straight. “My whole goal is to create a community where everyone wins," he said.

“The goal is not only to provide these artists with a gig, but also to give them exposure. The customers are happy, our restaurants are happy, everyone wins in the end.”

Ramchandani is candid about his position. His business was not hit as hard as others, the majority of his customers are local residents, which gave the food hall a stability that many venues lacked.

But that didn't mean they were untouched. In the early days, sourcing certain imported ingredients became a challenge, alternatives had to be found quickly, and yet, raising prices on their customers was never on the table.

“We have a strong community that supports us and shows up for us," he said.

“The majority of our customers are residents, this is a local spot. We rely less on delivery, with only about 25 per cent of sales coming from it. When the conflict started, we were still able to keep it busy and keep welcoming people because we create an experience. We started with Bingo in March and now we're supporting local musicians.”

For many, the Neighbourhood Food Hall is not just a place to eat, but a place where communities come together to support small, independent restaurants that serve food with soul and without them, a city loses something that is hard to name but instantly felt.

Every city weathers its share of storms. What defines it is not the challenge itself but how it rises to meet one and for Nicky Ramchandani, Dubai has never failed that test.

He has spent two decades in the city's restaurant industry and lived through his fair share of failures, but his belief in the city has never wavered.

“I bet on Dubai,” he says. "I don't look at Dubai as a city, I look at it as a community. With every difficult situation - I've been through recession, I've been through Covid, I've had to close four restaurants, it's not like I haven't had my fair share of failure."

Dubai, he believes, may look polished from the outside, but its real strength runs deeper, it lives in the people who have chosen to put their roots here, who show up, who believe.

"I know Dubai will continue to grow," he said, "because the people who live here, they know it."