You may have already heard that Akhu Manoushe — the family-led, bright yellow manoushe spot tucked inside Alserkal — is closing. But it is not the end, no. It is a transition, the closing of one chapter before the next begins.

Obviously, we had questions: why now, and what comes next? To find out, we spoke to the co-founder, Mohamad Ali Akkaoui. But before getting into the answers, let’s trace the story of the place itself.

The roots of Akhu Manoushe go back to Abu Dhabi in 2001, when Akkaoui’s father, Ibrahim Akkaoui (aka Abu Mohamad), opened Atyab Manqousha, a neighbourhood spot whose name translates to “the yummiest manoushe.” And it was truly the yummiest. Whenever Akkaoui travelled to Abu Dhabi to visit his family, friends would ask him to bring back dozens of manoushes in different flavours. What they were craving wasn’t just the food itself, but the feeling it carried — something that, as Akkaoui puts it, reminded them of “home.”

That demand eventually sparked a bigger idea — bringing the concept to Dubai.

At the time, Akkaoui had already been living in Dubai for years, while his parents remained in Abu Dhabi. Opening something together also became a way to bridge that distance and spend more time as a family.

Akkaoui isn’t someone who sits on ideas for long; he acts on them. And he wasn’t looking to build just another food concept. Instead, he approached Akhu Manoushe as something broader: a brand rooted as much in memory and emotion as it is in taste.

Even the visual identity reflects that thinking. The now-recognisable logo — the moustached man — is based on an old passport photo of Akkaoui’s father. What started as something personal turned into a caricature and, despite some hesitation, became the face of the brand.

From the beginning, the approach to space was never about settling down. Akhu Manoushe was meant to move — to show up, create an impression, and move on. The first pop-up was at 25hours Hotel One Central, and the final one at Alserkal Avenue.

The Alserkal space was created in collaboration with Ali Cha’aban, who made it work with both the area's architecture and the brand itself. He designed the typography, and his signature carpets ended up on the ceiling. Then came the colours — yellow and red.

So why is Akhu Manoushe closing?

— Akkaoui, why?

— For us as a family (and for me as a founder), it is about knowing when to push and when to pause.

Right now, we are pausing in order to pivot. With everything happening, consumer behaviour has been affected, so we are taking the learnings from the past few years and using them to rethink the brand.

The goal is to come back with a new chapter — stronger and closer to our roots. We want to explore more collaborations and more pop-ups in unexpected places — places where you wouldn’t usually see manoushe. There is a lot in the pipeline!

I think what is important is using moments like this to learn and reset, so we can come back stronger. The brand has already become part of people’s lives.

When we announced we were closing this chapter, the response was incredible. Parents were saying, “This was my son’s first manoushe,” or people from completely different backgrounds discovering it for the first time and asking, “Where are we going to get this now?” That kind of reaction gave us the energy to take the next step.

— You mentioned learnings. What did you learn?

— The biggest one for me is people.

Everyone talks about numbers, food cost, margins — and yes, those matter. But for me, it is really about the people. They can make or break your business.

You can teach anyone how to make your food. But you can’t easily find people who will help you build your business.

Some of our team have been with us since day one. They truly represent the brand. When people come in, they connect with them, they love the food they make.

And that is the difference. When your team treats the place, the food, and the brand as if it were their own.

— What is in the pipeline?

— Hopefully, some pop-ups here and there, and collaborations with different chefs, presented in a more unorthodox, fun way.

Those are the directions we are exploring right now. At the same time, we are thinking about what the best next step is for a physical space, how to structure it in a way that feels different and true to the brand.

— Can you think of a few highlights from this journey?

— There have been so many highlights! From parents bringing their kids for their very first manoushe, to us doing collaborations around the Avenue. One of my favourite things is working with Strawberry Fields inside Alserkal, a space for kids. Together, we run manoushe-making classes where kids make their first one themselves.

So there have been a lot of “firsts” for people, and for us. That is probably one of the most beautiful parts of the journey at Alserkal.

Quoz Arts Fest was another big one — our first time there, doing boxes of mini manoushe and interacting with so many people throughout the day. Even at night concerts, you would see me walking around with trays of hundreds of manoushe, just handing them out.

We also dropped merch with Talar Nina, which was special. We were one of the first manoushe concepts to collaborate with a designer like that.

— When do you think you will be back?

— I don’t want to make promises, but hopefully next season. Hopefully!