Owners of restaurants on UAE's Sheikh Zayed Road fear for future

Thousands visit the affordable restaurants every day with lorry drivers saying they cannot afford food at Adnoc stations.

A Pakistani man stops to rest at the roadside cafe between the Ghantoot and Truck Road intersections on E11 Dubai-bound highway. Antonie Robertson/The National

Abu Dhabi // On the dusty edges of Sheikh Zayed Road, thousands of people make a pit stop at the cafes in Ghantoot every day.

But the future of these restaurants is uncertain after Abu Dhabi Municipality last week announced plans to build five motorway rest stops in the area.

Owners say they are unclear about whether their businesses will be closed and lorry drivers say they cannot afford the food at newer venues, such as Adnoc service stations.

Karak tea and minced paratha rolls, a type of fried Indian bread, can be bought there for less than Dh5.

But the road exits and parking spots are haphazard and police frequently fine those who stop.

The municipality says the new rest areas will make the stop, about 85 kilometres from the capital, much safer for road users.

The road through Ghantoot is also notorious for dense fog at this time of year.

Naushad, a manager at Al Mifthah Restaurant for seven years, said business had halved since police barricaded the parking spots several years ago and started to fine those who stopped there.

“About 500 cars and trucks still stop here every day, even though vehicles are not allowed to park beside the highways,” said Mr Naushad. “Sometimes police fine them.”

He said he welcomed the new rest areas, as long as his business was allowed to remain open, as it would bring more customers his way. But he has heard nothing from the municipality so far.

“Just recently I renewed the licence. It is valid until 2015,” said Mr Naushad, who pays Dh7,000 a month in rent.

“We don’t feel threatened yet. We are happy that things will be organised here and open up new avenues for business and invite more people to us.”

The restaurants mostly offer Indian and Pakistani food, but they also have Arabic and Chinese dishes.

Food includes biryanis, kadahi ghost (Indian mughali mutton gravy), Afghan roti and arayes (Lebanese meat-stuffed pitas).

Egg biryani costs Dh12 and mutton is Dh20, while rolls cost between Dh3 and Dh4.

Sajeeva C K, manager at the Hill Palace restaurant, said the municipality had still not told him if the business had to close.

“In case we face closure we plan to rent outlets in new rest areas,” Mr Sajeeva said.

A municipality official confirmed last week that all five rest stops would be built in the Ghantoot area and be equipped with shops, restaurants and safe parking bays.

Faisal A V, a manager at Al Saha Restaurant for 17 years, agreed the rest areas would bring more customers.

But Mr Faisal said he was in the dark about the fate of his own outlet, which is on the Abu Dhabi-bound side of Sheikh Zayed Road.

“I heard these plans before but nothing happened,” he said. “I’m not aware of this and our licence is valid till the year end.”

The roadside restaurants have been operating for about 25 years and customers say the food is much more affordable, but the new areas could be better for road safety.

Ziad Khan, a sales executive from Dubai who stopped for lunch at Al Saha Restaurant last week, said Adnoc service station prices were too expensive.

“I love the tasty karak chai here and the food quality is good and affordable,” Mr Khan said. “At Adnoc stations prices are very high, so we stop here.

“That is a good thing if authorities have decided to build rest areas. It would reduce accidents as parked vehicles beside the road sometimes mislead drivers and cause accidents.”

But closures could be a problem for lorry drivers because of their low wages.

“If they close these, we will find others who offer food at reduced rates as we cannot afford Adnoc’s high pricing and that does not suit our taste,” said Mohammed Nasir, a Pakistani driver.

“Here we can lunch for Dh10 to Dh15, but we can’t think about going to Adnoc stations.”