Sticky Rice to reopen with support from UAE residents: 'The entire community came together'

The restaurant which lost one of its founders to Covid-19 in February received generous contributions

Amena Rakkuson, who opened Dubai Thai restaurant Sticky Rice with her son, Mo Abedin, died of Covid-19 in February. Chris Whiteoak / The National

After being shut for more than a month, popular Dubai restaurant Sticky Rice has announced it will be reopening its Jumeirah Village Circle branch on Wednesday.

For now, it will only be open for food pick-ups and deliveries.

It's a big step for the family-run home-grown restaurant that closed at the end of January because of the rise in Covid-19 cases.

Since then, its owners have announced that the virus “went through 95 per cent of our team and family, leaving us utterly devastated”.

In February, Amena Rakkuson, better known as the "mama" behind the restaurant, died after contracting Covid-19.

As the popular Thai spot opens for the first time since her death, Mo Abedin, Rakkuson's son, wants to thank the UAE community for their support during a very difficult time.

"Mama was the heart and soul of the business," he tells The National. "Everything was managed by her and, when she died, it was difficult for us to take over. She left some big shoes to fill."

He said that, at the time, the restaurant was struggling financially and they weren't sure if they could reopen at all. “Much of our staff were ill and isolating, we were closed for over a month with expenses only going up.”

That is when they started taking pre-orders for a plush toy inspired by Rakkuson's favourite mascot "Kew".

“Mama loved these cute yellow duckies and, towards her last months, we worked closely together to design the Kew plushie, which was to be released in March. We did a pre-order campaign and rolled out something that mama loved as a way to honour and pay respect to her.”

Abedin announced the sale of the 20-centimetre-tall plush toy on social media, and was amazed and grateful for the positive response.

“The entire community came together. There were some insanely generous contributions to say the least. The pre-orders allowed us to get back on our feet again.”

With the restaurant looking at ways to reopen completely in a safe manner, Abedin wants to remind people not to let their guard down when protecting themselves against Covid-19.

“You see some people with their nose sticking out of the mask or a chin strap mask, and you know these people are ignorant of the fact that there’s a pandemic. Your decisions might seem innocent, but days later you can put other people in serious risk – even shut down entire restaurants or resorts.

“If you want to continue eating in restaurants and having normal dining experiences, follow the rules and respect the people who are working day and night to feed you."