Meet the owner of Karachi Kafe in United States (Daily Pakistan Exclusive)

KARACHI – A woman entrepreneur has taken the taste and style of Pakistan’s biggest city to the heart of the US state of New Jersey.

Anny Khan had immigrated to the United States from Karachi some nineteen years ago when she was just a child. Although she travelled abroad, her heart remained in Pakistan.

“I am a Pakistani and I am proud of it,” the owner of Karachi Kafe told Daily Pakistan in an exclusive chat through a video link.

This is what motivated her to open the unique restaurant in a place where burgers and pizza are the most widely consumed delicacies.

Khan, who has been running a magazine for the past five year, narrates her story about how she came up with the unique idea that has now become the centre of attraction in her area.

Karachi Kafe is unique in many ways. Besides the mouth-watering food, the eatery is entirely decorated in desi style featuring truck art, posters of Pakistani heroes, cricketers and the Pakistani flag. A perfect blend of Pakistan’s food and culture – this is how Khan is presenting her country overseas.

She also built a ‘patriotic wall’, as she calls it, where quotes in Urdu are written – an attraction for South Asians and other communities alike.

Many other Pakistani immigrants also visit the restaurant to feel the warmth of their homeland that they have left behind in search of a better livelihood. Not only they dine in, but the customers also read out the Urdu lines to their children.

“It warms my heart and I am very proud to present the best of my country,” said Anny with a smile on her face.

The young businesswoman, however, sorely misses her homeland where she grew up, especially the ‘city of lights’ – Karachi.