Conversations with Sam Rafay

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Rafay.

Hi Sam, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
I moved to Houston, TX, from Karachi, Pakistan, as a teenager in Feb 2010. I got my first job at Jimmy Johns as a delivery driver. After working there for a few months, I was promoted to Store Manager. Later on, I was sent to Chicago, IL, for Jimmy Johns certified managers training. Working full-time and managing the school was challenging for me as a full-time student. I worked in the restaurant industry for a few years until I finished college. My goal was to have my restaurant when I graduated. I got very close to opening my first restaurant in 2017, but because of some issues, I could not do so. I didn’t want to give up, so I moved to Kansas in 2017 to help manage my uncle’s Gas station business. After moving to KC, I realized there’s an abundance of good Mediterranean and Indian/Pakistani-style food, so I decided to open up a halal food truck, “Kc Gyro Guys,” on the state line, and it was a great success. Unfortunately, after running the business for a few months, my wife and I got Covid, so we had to close the truck. My wife was pregnant with our first baby, so we sold the truck. After selling the food truck for the next few years, I continued working for my family. My wife and I are big-time foodies, and we always talked about how there’s not an excellent hang-out spot in Kansas for CHAI. Let me say that CHAI is not just a beverage but an experience that brings people together. Why not open a Chai Cafe and share our passion with the locals? We always wanted to open up a place where people from all age groups can come and enjoy.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Finding the perfect location and finishing the construction on time was pretty challenging. It takes a lot to open a business, but I am very fortunate that the response from all the customers is very positive.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. What can you tell our readers who might need to be more familiar with what you do?
Few other restaurants in town sell Chai, but we wanted to take the Chai game to the next level by introducing our signature Zafran chai and the Koyla chai.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
We freshly brew our Chai throughout the day by using the finest tea. To perfect the Chai recipe, I went to Dubai to learn more about the Zafran chai and went to my hometown, Karachi, to learn the Koyla Chai.

Contact Info:

• Website: mychaicafe.com