If you enjoy chai, unique South Asian flavours and delicious Indian-style breakfast, you're in for a treat with the arrival of Chaiiwala.
One of the UK's most successful chai cafes with over 40 locations, Chaiiwala felt it was time to bring classic, freshly-brewed chai to Canada. Ever since their opening in Scarborough, the cafe has received an amazing response with line ups and going viral over TikTok.
"We've created our own version of a South Asian Starbucks, where instead of coffee customers can pick up a fresh brewed cup of chai," says Musadiq Jivraj, the company's retail development director.
It all started in India nearly 90 years ago, where the company's first glimpse of chai was sold on the streets of New Delhi. Eventually, as the recipe passed down generations Muhammed, Sohail and Mustafa from Leicester in England decided to bring chai to the streets of London. There was loads of positive feedback from customers all over the city, which prompted the three cousins to open more stores across UK.
Now, they have decided Canada is the right market to bring Chaiiwala given the diverse communities living here and the celebration of multiculturalism across the country.
"The South Asian food scene is really ahead in the UK due to having third or fourth generation settlers from all over Asia... compared to the UK, something was missing in Canada, especially when it comes to Indian street food and chai," says Jivraj. As such, they partnered with Shiraj Kothiwala and Ajmal Gundhra (Master Franchise Owners) to launch in Canada.
Chaiiwala is known for their Karak Chai (fermented black tea leaves, ginger and spices such as black pepper, cardamon, cinnamon, fennel and cloves), all-day Indian-style breakfast (masala omelette, spicy beans or daal, roti and chai) and drinks like Mango Cream Frappe or Falooda (Rose-flavoured milkshakes). You can also find Indian street food classics, like butter chicken roti, masala fries or Pav Bhaji.
In South Asia, serving chai is a social tradition, meaning whenever a family member or friend visits, a fresh pot of chai is always brewed. This concept of sitting down and enjoying snacks with chai is what Chaiiwala hopes to achieve when people come by to enjoy their creations.
Currently, they have two locations set to open in Mississauga later this year and a flagship location in Vancouver. You can try their streets of karachi inspired bun kebab, mogo chips and drinks at their location at 55 Lebovic Avenue in Scarborough.
