Alyan al Falasi and his family used to come to Jebel Ali beach for their rest and relaxation, namely camping and fishing to escape the turbulence of their busy lives. But when Dubai municipality declared the area as a public campsite, their hidden gem was no longer hidden as residents and tourists flocked to the spot.
The Emirati lawyer and entrepreneur alongside his family has chosen a creative way to reclaim their favorite getaway; by opening Maddy Food Truck.
“The reason we opened the food truck here is because my friends, family and I always spend our time in this area. I have my boat here.” Says Alyan with a smirk on his face. “We come here because it’s out of the city and you can’t go to Jumeirah anymore as it became a bit hectic. Only a few people know this spot.”
They established Maddy Food Truck at the end of 2020, not concerned with success or failure but the motivation to reclaim their favorite spot and creating a serene concept, a place where people can go their watch the sunset and relax.
“We thought if our peace will be disturbed and our secret space beach compromised, we want to reclaim a bit of it.”
A six-month contract means Aylan and his partners are limited in time and flexibility in adding fixable structures, however, the space has flourished with a minimalist approach.
Cushioned seats that people were comfortably lying down on, paired with gently lit surrounding string fairy lights all by the beach make the space a concealed and peaceful getaway.
"We are willing to extend the contract for another year if they are not doing any projects. That’s why we cannot do any fixable structures here. Even if I get the approval for another year, I can’t think of a nicer design. It's a chill, unpretentious and very comfortable place,” explained Alyan.
Aylan and his partners are planning on opening another food truck at a different location, with a different style after Ramadan. In the meantime, they are exploring and looking for a signature menu item.
With most UAE venues making trendy products like Acai or the renowned Spanish Latte their specialty menu item, Aylan has found their beef burger to be the most popular so far.
”We still didn’t decide what’s going to be the unique item on our menu. But, people love our beef burger. So, I would have to say our beef burger is a must-try at Maddy,” said Alyan.
With strict Covid-19 measures, the team aren’t sparing any measure. Aylan’s employees stay in a private accommodation and at Maddy, gloves and masks are obligatory at all times.
“We make sure that our employees do not mix too much with other people. That is why we got them a private place, we make sure they do not interact with anybody else because we need them in the kitchen and interact with the people. Mask and gloves on all the time. We are trying as much as we can to keep space between the tables,” he says.
A lawyer by profession and currently completing his national service, Aylan also runs two other companies.
Him and his cousins were taught to be independent at a young age with a lot of parental pressure. With hard work and the support of their family they opened the food truck, their first business venture in their mid-20’s to gain first-hand experience within F&B. One of Aylan’s main objectives now is building his own database or network in other words, independently.
"The only challenge is that we opened late but early at the same time. Late because we did not prepare before enough before the grand opening. We had a budget and we said we would not exceed the budget,” explains Aylan. “We opened at the beginning of February although we got the confirmation in January, but we needed time to prepare. The truck was ready but to get the employee’s you need to give them an offer and a one-month notice.” Since they got the acceptance before two weeks of opening some elements are still missing to complete the atmosphere.” He adds as the challenge of “opening early.”
Alyan’s advice to anyone thinking about opening an F&B business is to do it right away but not until proper homework is done.
“Do it. But you need to do three things first. You need to do a proper study of the place, namely figuring out what it does or doesn’t need. Second, you need to do a proper stock-taking inventory system, so you control your costs and menu. Third, you have to be there personally to take care of everything for at least the first month or two. At the end of the day, it’s your money and no one will care about it as much as you. Employees want their salary at the end of the day, so if you are not present, no one will take care of it for you.”
And regarding the fear of failure, Aylan has redefined the word for himself; it’s not in his dictionary. “I never fail, even when I do in the traditional sense because I learned something from it. True failure to me is not mustering the courage to do what you want. People will talk a lot about a project and how to start a business but never actually walk the walk. We like to walk and then talk.”
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