Some entrepreneurs might slow down after 25 years in the high-pressure restaurant business.
Not Emad Ibrahim and Nadiah Mshasha. The couple, who opened one of Silicon Valley’s first full-service Middle Eastern restaurants a quarter-century ago and now operate five fast-casual eateries called Dish n Dash, will mark the anniversary by expanding to the Tri-Valley area for the first time.
Their next Dish n Dash will open in late April in Dublin.
They took the time to reminisce recently about their first quarter-century with a party at their flagship Dish Dash on Sunnyvale’s historic Murphy Avenue.
But they might not have celebrated at all if Mayor Larry Klein hadn’t alerted them. “It’s the truth,” Ibrahim told the crowd. “He reminded us, ‘Hey, it’s your 25th anniversary. Are you doing something?’”
Ibrahim didn’t need to think long. “Maybe we should!” he recounted with a laugh.
Looking back at the 2001 experiment that turned into a success, he said, “We took a leap of faith. We didn’t know if this place was going to make it.”
His engineer friends had urged him to take that leap, he told the Mercury News in an interview that year. “They were saying, ‘Indian and Chinese colleagues take us to good restaurants. We want a Middle Eastern place we can be proud of.’”
Soon, Silicon Valley techies filled the restaurant, he said, especially after a glowing Mercury News review a few months after the opening. “Then, all of a sudden, we’re running out of rice, of all things!”
The couple knew they had a hit with their wide-ranging menu of shawarma, falafel, fattoush, kebabs, mansaf, seafood and rack of lamb.
A decade later, Ibrahim decided to try a counter-service offshoot of Dish Dash to serve customers too busy for a sit-down meal. The first Dish n Dash opened in 2011 on Mathilda Avenue in Sunnyvale, and the group now operates fast-casual eateries in Cupertino, San Jose, Milpitas and Fremont as well as that first one.
By maintaining a central kitchen, Mshasha said, they can ensure that all of their locations have fresh daily supplies of made-from-scratch hummus, falafel, pita and Middle Eastern specialties like kibbeh (bulghur shell filled with ground lamb) that other restaurants do not necessarily make in-house.
At the event, the couple heaped praise on those who have made their success possible, from their general manager Amit Rajgarhia to their loyal customers. “I always call you the cheerleaders of Dish Dash,” Ibrahim told the latter group.
In return, members of the public thanked the couple and the restaurant staff.
Marie Bernard, executive director of Sunnyvale Community Services, stepped forward to call attention to Dish Dash’s generosity in supplying meals for the nonprofit’s clients, noting that the kitchen even had meals ready for her to pick up at 10:30 a.m., before the party started.
“On this busy day, they are cooking for us — and the community,” she said as the crowd applauded.
Details: The flagship Dish Dash restaurant, at 190 S. Murphy Ave., Sunnyvale, serves from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, until 9:30 Fridays, 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturdays and 4 to 9 p.m. Sundays. The new Dish n Dash will open later this month at the Hacienda Crossings center, 4808 Dublin Blvd., Dublin. Details on all locations: dishdash.com