interior

A‘dhaba’ with a twist

Keeping up with the current trend of chai culture, another contemporary dhaba has recently opened up in Karachi. You! takes a look...

Nowadays, multiple tea shops have sprouted across Karachi, almost all of them centered around the dhaba culture that celebrates truck art. The good point about these tea houses is that they are open to families and women, hence, bringing a change to the culture of how women occupy public spaces. Since many people are now opting to chill out at these modern dhabas, we find the popular ones flooded with people. Recently, another contemporary tea/coffee house TCJ has opened up to join the competition. The only difference between other dhabas and this tea house is that it’s got a modern theme rather than the desi one other places have currently opted for.

Owais Sabri, owner of Tea Coffee J aka TCJ is of the view that the recent dhabas fail to offer a productive ambiance. He therefore, has made an effort to create a dhaba that is progressive yet offers delicious and hygienic tea and coffee. “I wanted to create a culture that promotes productive conversations - conversations that can lead to new start-ups and opportunities,” he explains. “We wanted to welcome students and young adults as well as families in an environment where they could feel inspired through art, music and a contemporary ambience. To enable such an ambience, we installed amenities such as a wifi facility, surround sound system and a flat screen,” he adds.

Owais also always wanted to provide an outdoor environment where people could sip their favourite beverage from the comforts of their cars (and in the comfort of their PJs). The huge parking lot opposite the cafe serves this purpose brilliantly.

For the interior of TCJ, Owais has played with a rustic modern theme, using recycled palette wood on the roof that is complemented by a dark wooden flooring. The theme is bold, modern and colourful. “If we could sum it in a statement it would read: ‘A modern escape.’”

There are also multiple coloured led lights that run around the wooden ceiling allowing them to temper the ambience and the mood of the cafe, transforming the place from an English coffee shop to a psychedelic cafe with just a switch of a button. Other lighting elements include spotlights and rustic lamps that have been placed to enhance special corners of the tea house.

The furniture has also played an important part in making the place cosy as well as classy. The basic and bold two seater sofas give a young and energetic feel to the cafe. The hip leather chairs are space efficient and give a cool air to the tea house.

Design-wise, the highlight of the interior of TCJ is their walls. “Both the main walls of TCJ are interactive, encouraging visitors to leave their imprints on the place. The doodle wall is a wall-chalking haven where you can spew all your creativity, emotions and expressions using colourful chalks. Half of the doodle wall has been converted into a mural with the help of an artist to inspire visitors to unleash their creativity.” The colours used in the interior of TCJ are warm and dark base colours for the roof, floor and one of the walls, complemented with a neutral creme coloured wall. The décor is pepped up by the bright LED lights, wall chalks, the multi-coloured ‘Before I Die’ wall tags and the bright leather covers on the sofa.

What is interesting about the ‘Before I Die’ wall is that it holds promises and commitments of all guests as they share their dreams and milestones that they would like to accomplish before they die. “Not only does the wall look aesthetically beautiful with hanging colourful placards, it is also thought provoking for most visitors as they are left thinking about their deepest desires,” shares Owais.

Apart from the funky interior, another outstanding feature of the cafe is the job board it offers. Here guests can post and look for jobs and opportunities. “Very soon we plan to turn this place into a start-up accelerator or an incubator of sorts so our young adults can come, visualize their dreams and turn them into reality,” concludes Owais.

Photography by

Naqeeb-ur-Rehman