Saudi Gazette The coffee culture first emerged in Saudi Arabia around the year 2000. More and more Saudis started exploring the different flavors of coffee and sooner than you can say ‘grande mocha frappuccino with whipped cream', they became hooked to coffee shops! There are lots of popular coffee places to choose from in the Kingdom, and one such cafe which gained immense popularity in a short period of time and is thronged by coffee lovers is Coffee Republic and there is an interesting story behind its success, that very few people know about. Lawyer, Sahar Hashemi, owner and founder of Coffee Republic, was working and living in the United Kingdom. She traveled to New York to visit her brother, Bobby Hashemi. In the early 1990s, she was sitting in a bustling café, sipping her coffee, listening to the loud sound of cappuccino makers frothing milk, and watching lines of people swarming in to satisfy their craving for coffee. At that moment, it dawned on Sahar that such coffee shops were desperately missing in the United Kingdom. Fragrantly scented and delicious tea was available at every corner in the UK, but there were very few coffee shops which offered a snack bar and variety of hot and chilled coffee beverages. So, Sahar decided to start her own coffee movement in the United Kingdom. “I did some market research and realized that we were drinking less tea and more coffee,” explained Sahar. “We were taking on a lot of European habits, due to the increase in foreign travel. I thought the market was heading that way, so I made a gut instinct decision.” Sahar gave up her job as a lawyer and Bobby who worked as an investment banker in the US, quit his job too, to devote their time and energy to establish their joint endeavor: Coffee Republic. When their idea was still in its earliest stages, they faced immense disappointment each time they approached a bank for a loan. The Hashemis' business plan was rejected 19 times by the banks before they finally received funding. The first branch of Coffee Republic opened in London in the year 1995. It took some time for Brits to warm up to this new concept of a coffee shop. To excite customers' tastes and all their senses for that matter, Coffee Republic offered coffee with or without foamed milk, bitter coffee or sweet caramel coffee or coffee with cinnamon or hazelnut flavor. Not only did they serve great coffee, but also bagels, sandwiches, muffins, croissants, brownies, cookies, and cheesecakes. Progress was slow in the beginning, but the siblings stuck together and opened their second café the following year, in 1996. Five years later, they had 82 branches and the number continues to increase with time. Coffee Republic went international and now serves coffee lovers in Cyprus, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Romania. Sahar left Coffee Republic in the year 2001 and co-authored a best-selling book with her brother, Anyone Can Do It: Building Coffee Republic From Our Kitchen Table. One factor that made Coffee Republic such a sweet story of success was the unbreakable bond between its founders who are siblings. “With friends, you are perhaps not as forthright with what you think and there can be a bit of politics, whereas there is no politics with a sibling. That relationship is going to be there forever, they are not going to just walk away, “ said Sahar Hashemi commented on their partnership. __
