Mohammad Abdul Nabi always had a deep connection to coffee. After spending four to five years roasting Turkish coffee for an Egyptian brand, he reached a turning point. “One day, I just said: why not start something new?” That spark of ambition led him to launch Abduls Specialty Coffee in Dubai — a brand built on craft, culture, and a passion for bringing something truly distinctive to the city’s thriving café scene.
Brewing a Bold New Idea
Abduls Specialty Coffee was Mohammad’s leap into entrepreneurship, a chance to bring his years of F&B expertise into something he could call his own. The vision was clear: a speciality coffee brand with real character, ready to reach customers through delivery and beyond. What he needed was the right foundation to make it happen without overextending from the start.
The Challenge
Breaking into Dubai’s competitive food and beverage market is no small feat, especially for a first-time founder working with a lean budget. Mohammad knew that going the traditional route simply wasn’t the right fit at this stage.
- High Entry Costs: Scouting physical locations and pop-up spaces in Dubai meant steep fit-out costs and heavy upfront commitments, which isn’t ideal for a brand still finding its footing.
- Operational Complexity: Setting up an independent kitchen from scratch would have demanded significant time, resources, and infrastructure that weren’t yet available.
- Proving the Concept First: Before investing in a flagship, Mohammad wanted to test the market, build a customer base, and refine his offering.
“When we first decided to open up Abduls Coffee in Dubai, we were looking at physical places and also pop-up places,” he recalls. “KitchenPark just came along the way, and I thought it would be the best option for us at the moment.”
The Solution
KitchenPark offered exactly the kind of flexible, low-barrier entry point Mohammad was looking for. By operating out of one of KitchenPark’s delivery-only kitchens, he was able to launch Abduls Specialty Coffee without the burden of a costly fit-out or a long-term lease tying him down.
The setup gave him the freedom to go live on aggregators like Deliveroo and Careem quickly, while keeping overheads manageable. As the brand grows, KitchenPark’s wider ecosystem, including central production units for scaling operations and CloudRetail® for expanding into retail, means there’s a clear path forward at every stage.
“It’s the easiest way to start working on a food idea,” Mohammad says. “You don’t need a lot of fit-out, you don’t need to pay a lot of rent upfront. You just get your equipment and test whatever you want, and then drive to the market.”
The Results
The brand’s momentum really took off when an influencer discovered Abduls Specialty Coffee and shared it with her audience, sparking a viral moment that put the brand firmly on the map. “The biggest achievement is the It girl bag going viral,” Mohammad shares with a smile. “The biggest reward would be just seeing people enjoying our coffee.”
Beyond the buzz, what’s kept Abduls going is the day-to-day reliability of KitchenPark’s support.
- Supplier Access: A ready network of suppliers made sourcing smoother from the get-go.
- Responsive Maintenance: From equipment issues to general upkeep, the team was always on hand. “We’ve had maintenance on time. We’ve had a responsive team that answers all our concerns.”
- Operational Learning: Mohammad credits KitchenPark with teaching him a great deal about running an F&B business, so much so that it inspired him to explore opening a similar facility back in Egypt.
Looking Ahead
With Abduls Specialty Coffee gaining real traction in Dubai, Mohammad’s ambitions are only growing. The goal is to evolve from a cloud kitchen into pop-ups, and eventually, a flagship store — a journey he’s already mapping out. “We could shift from being only cloud to pop-ups and then one day opening our flagship store.”
For food entrepreneurs ready to test a bold idea without betting everything on it, KitchenPark gives you the space, literally and figuratively, to build something that lasts.
