- A roadside restaurant in Abu Dhabi called Al Saha has lost most of its customers since a new road diversion was created that takes drivers past it. The manager estimates business is down 80%. - Another nearby restaurant called Hill Palace has also struggled with lack of business due to the same road situation. However, it is undergoing renovations in hopes that the new road will bring them more customers once complete. - While some drivers like Krishnan Peter Fernando are still loyal customers of Al Saha, the manager fears its days may be numbered without the easy access from the road it previously had. The changes highlight how infrastructure updates can significantly impact established businesses.

1. Monday, January 12, 2015 www.thenational.ae
The National the emirates08
focus
Restaurants
It wasn’t the safest restaurant
car park – hardly surprising as it
wasthehardshoulderoftheE11
motorway on the Dubai-bound
carriageway at Ghantoot – but it
wasoneofthemostconvenient.
Generations of hungry drivers
have pulled over for a bite to eat
oracupofteaatatrioofroadside
diners on the Abu Dhabi side
of the border between the two
emirates. Not any more. A green
fence and a new slip road have
brought order to ordering your
lunchtime biryani or afternoon
karak.
In the past, the sight of the
clogged-up emergency lane was
a hallmark of the journey, with
motorists parking opposite the
Ghantoot Polo & Racing Club.
Fromtheretoyourtablewasjust
aneasy,albeitsandy,walk.
Now Abu Dhabi Municipality
has created a permanent diver-
sion, with new roads stretching
fromeithersideofanAdnocpet-
rolstationandreststop.Tothose
accustomedtoparkingnexttoAl
SahaRestaurant,theonlyclueof
how to get there now is a small
red sign, visible near the exit of
the Adnoc, which reads “restau-
rant”inEnglishandArabic.
As cars zip by, the restaurant’s
gritty exterior makes it immedi-
ately apparent that parking has
long been an issue, with a sign
warning:“Noparkingroadside”.
Inside,however,customersstill
tuck into biryani of all varieties
and, most importantly, karak
andmasalatea.
“This road outside finished
about one month ago now –
we’ve lost a lot of business,” says
Kunhabdulla K C Mamu – Ab-
dulla for short – the restaurant’s
Keralitemanager.
He speaks forlornly, albeit
with a sense of acceptance. “Be-
fore, this was all open,” he adds,
pointing towards the motorway,
now blocked off with a green
wirefence.
Mr Mamu says the restaurant,
which is open from 6am until
midnight, has lost at least 80 per
cent of its customers since the
diversion was completed, with
most people now just “going
straight”pastit.
While he has worked at Al Saha
for six years, he says the restau-
rant is at least three decades old.
Until a month ago, customers
hadparkedontheadjacenthard
shoulder.
TeacostsDh1percup.Whether
acompetitivepricingstrategy,or
acharmingremnantofpastpric-
ing, this previously allowed the
restaurant to sell between 2,000
and 3,000 cups a day – come fog
orsandstorm.
“Now, we’re mostly selling
more like 100 to 150,” sighs Mr
Mamu. “The busiest time now is
lunch time – before it was every
time, the whole time. Morning,
lunchtime, dinner and evening
teatime:itwasalwayscrowded.”
It is hard to hear him amid the
loud rumblings of conversa-
tions, both hearty and morose,
throughout the bustling restau-
rant. Emiratis stop for tea and
quick bite to eat, while groups of
workerstaketheirtime.
The back wall is lined with
branded refrigerators and the
walls and floors are a tile-mak-
er’sdream.Meanwhile,theearly
afternoon sun shines through
small photos of Barcelona foot-
baller Lionel Messi, offering an
abstract edge to the otherwise
humbledecor.
Mr Mamu continues: “The en-
trance to this restaurant is in the
petrolstation.Intheeveningthis
petrol station gets very crowded
and traffic gets stuck. So, people
who pass the entrance see there
are too many cars and don’t
comeinside.”
Mr Mamu oversaw the installa-
tionoftworedsignsatthepetrol
station, which indicate the way
to Al Saha. However, these are
impossible to see from the mo-
torway and if you miss the exit, it
is a long detour to get back, one
thatmostdriverswouldill-afford
the time to take. “I don’t know
what I can do – that road closure
is our main problem,” says Mr
Mamu.
Because there are no residen-
tial areas to serve in the imme-
diate vicinity, he says the restau-
rant’s main customers now are
itsmostloyalmotorists.
One of those is Krishnan Peter
Fernando, a supervisor at clean-
ing company Tanzifco Emir-
ates. Dressed in a white polo
shirt,brandedwithhiscompany
name, he speaks enthusiastical-
ly about why he loves the restau-
rant.
“I’ve been coming for more
than three years,” he says.
“Everything is very good. The
food is very good, it’s nice and
healthy. The place is very clean –
everythingisverygood.”
He visits the restaurant daily
withateamofcleaners,whotuck
into chicken and mutton biry-
ani. He is equally fond of karak,
as well as Arabic, Asian and Eu-
ropeanfood.
Mr Fernando not been put off
bythenewdiversionandhasnot
found it problematic. However,
whether this is because noth-
ing will get between a man and
his biryani, or the fact that he is
visiting at lunchtime – when the
petrol station is quiet – remains
uncertain.
“Before I used to stop over
there,” he says, pointing to the
hard shoulder, “but now it is
muchsafer.”
On the opposite end of Adnoc,
there is another slip road, one
that cuts back towards Abu Dha-
bi. It is subtle and almost cam-
ouflaged, with no signposting,
butleadstoGhantootHillPalace
Restaurant, a slightly glossier
cafeteria with tables and chairs
stackedoutside.
Behind the building, a rooster
and three chickens seek shade
underneath a large palm tree.
They are shortly joined by sev-
eral more hens, emerging from
a makeshift coop. An elderly,
bearded Pakistani man relaxes
against the wall, opposite a lor-
ry carrying a large generator tied
downwithrope.
Itiscleartherestaurantisbeing
renovated, and for good reason,
according to the Indian manag-
er,AsharafKulamullathil.
“We’ve been ‘fully closed’ for
about three months. But for
about five years we have been
‘half-closed’, because we’ve had
no business,” he explains. Mr
Kulamullathil says the restau-
rant has managed to retain its
most loyal customers – some of
whom have been regulars since
itopened17yearsago.
Aside from the renovation, he
hopesthatthenewroadwillalso
bring good fortune once the res-
taurantreopensnextweek.
“Before, there wasn’t a fence.
There was no crossing. It was
open, but sometimes there
would be accidents. People
wouldsometimeslosecontrolof
theircarsandcauseaccidents.”
The new Hill Palace will serve
a range of food that includes
Arabic, Pakistani and Indian
cuisine, as well as the usual sus-
pects: burgers, biryani and fresh
juice.
It is one of many restaurants
owned and operated by the Hot
Burger Group, which has 10 sig-
natureHotBurgeroutletsacross
Sharjah and Ajman. “A lot of our
customers are Arabic people
fromAbuDhabi,”hesays.
“At the old Jebel Ali Emarat
petrol station, we have a brand
called Qasr Al Jabal and they
have customers from the UAE
defence force who have visited
therefor20years.”
However,despitesuchsuccess-
es, he firmly believes that Hill
Palace is the group’s best loca-
tion, and a prime piece of real
estate, due to its position on the
E11motorway.
“There are no rest places like
this for drivers leaving from Abu
Dhabi:theydon’thavethismuch
parking for big vehicles. And we
have also have a refreshment
area and toilets. We also built
a prayer area,” he continues,
pointing towards a small, shad-
edveranda.
The restaurant, which will start
with ten staff members, hopes
to reap the rewards of the new
diversion. However, Mr Kulam-
ullathil concedes that only time
willtell.
“We will change gradually. We
are just renewing some small
things right now because we
don’t know what will come – but
weexpectitwillbegood.”
ĝĝ halbustani@thenational.ae
Endofaroadlesstravelled
Days of weary drivers stopping
at the Al Saha Restaurant in
Dubai, off the E11 motorway, may
be numbered. Manager Abdulla
Mamu, far left, fears time may
be short for an establishment
that was a friend to a generation
of drivers. Even in the short
time since the roadworks were
completed, Al Saha’s clientele
has dwindled. Photos Sarah Dea /
The National
A loyal supporter of the business, Krishnan Peter Fernando stops at Al Saha restaurant for lunch.
Progressisnotnecessarilyafriend, just ask the proprietor of the Al Saha roadside diner on the E11. The Abu Dhabi eaterie is
struggling as a new road takes drivers on by and neighbours look to cash in on changing times, HarethAlBustanireports
We don’t know what
will come – but we
expect it will be
good
Asharaf Kulamullathil manager,
Hill Palace restaurant