How this all began
Faiq grew up in Pakistan and has many memories of stopping by the local dhaba before school to grab breakfast - a simple cholay chawal or naan cholay. When he came to study in the UK, he missed the breakfast street food he grew up with. Since he moved here, he's seen many places opening up for the South Asian community, but none offer the same value for money or quality as the stalls or dhabas he would pass by on his daily route to school.
What if?
Cha Kulcha has been a "what if" for almost a decade when we first realised there are many places in the UK that could benefit the local community with such a stall. We began to ask ourselves, what if we could open our desi breakfast cafe? What would it look like? What if we could make it inclusive and cater to a variety of diets? What if we could create a space that becomes *that* community spot? What if we could keep the menu focused on providing quality Desi breakfast items over generalised dishes?
We moved to Stevenage at the end of the first lockdown in 2020 and embraced what the town has to offer. From the beginning, we noticed the potential of the indoor market to become a hub for the community and asked ourselves, "What if this was the spot for our breakfast stall?"
We're thrilled to have been offered such a stall within the Stevenage Indoor Market and are busy behind the scenes getting everything together so we can start serving traditional Desi flatbreads, breakfast curries & more to the Stevenage community.
We have a plan to start small and see where things take us. We want to focus on providing quality food which brings a similar taste to what you would experience getting from a local dhaba in Pakistan - with a much better hygiene rating. 😅
We also plan to make sure our core menu caters to various diets - whether or not you eat halal, are vegan, gluten-free, etc., we want you to feel included.
What is happening now
We are working towards launch day and will keep you informed every step of the way. The reality is that when it comes to starting any business, there are a lot of pre-trade costs.
We hope to open in early Summer and are so excited to bring a taste of Pakistan to Stevenage. Any help you can give us will go a long way towards helping us purchase machinery and supplies & organise community experiences.
Our thanks for helping
We want the community to be involved from the beginning because, at its core, this Cafe is a celebration of culture and sharing good food with everyone. Once we've got the stall going, we also want to get more involved in local events and help the community, sharing our heritage with Stevenage.
As a thank you for your support, we've put together some rewards for your first visit once we open. We look forward to seeing you all come in and try Cha Kulcha when we launch!