In 2013, Nicky and Murtaza Moulvi put a concept on paper. It was for a brick-and-mortar establishment, a place that served as the perfect intersection between coffee, custom motorcycles and community. That concept was revisited, tuned, distilled, filtered and eventually realized in the form of a warehouse in Dubai’s industrial Al Quoz area. Nobody had attempted something like this in the city before, so a certain degree of trial and error was also part of the mix.
The warehouse was completed in late 2013 and a select few were invited to taste the coffee and have a look at a mostly empty space with a dedicated coffee bar and a glass partition that demarcated the Café Rider motorcycle workshop. In early 2014, three Brass Balls motorcycles arrived in crates from Seattle. They were placed on wooden plinths in the middle of the Café and the doors were formally opened to the public by way of an opening party. Since then, the Café has evolved in so many different ways that even we’ve lost track of the changes. New seating arrangements, new furniture, retail shelving, the temporary placement of a full-size food truck inside the café, the creation and subsequent renovation of the Café Rider kitchen, the creation of the roastery…. the list goes on.
Yet, we don’t count all the stuff that we’ve added to the Café as our foremost assets. We do count the numerous regulars who’ve been there from day one, those who’ve joined along the way and every new patron who enters the Café for the first time. We pride ourselves on being a haven for those looking to have a conversation, seeking refuge from the summer heat, or being the first point to fuel up on caffeine before embarking on an adventure.
Café Rider has always been more than the sum of its parts, especially thanks to you - our loyal community. We bring the coffee, you bring the adventure and the good memories. Somewhere along the way, magic happens.
That, is what we’re celebrating seven years of.
Be original, be free.
