More than 25 years later, that same philosophy has found a new home in Dubai with The Big Chill Cafe’s first international outpost at Dubai Hills Mall, bringing its much loved pastas, pizzas, desserts and unmistakable charm to a whole new audience.
Behind it all are founders Aseem Grover and Fawzia Ahmed. We sat down with the duo to talk about the journey from a single neighbourhood cafe to an international expansion, the challenges of recreating a beloved institution abroad, and why great hospitality matters just as much as great food.
What was the exact moment when The Big Chill Cafe shifted from being a dream you talked about to something you seriously decided to pursue?
The idea actually goes back to when we first met in Rwanda in 1996. We spoke about maybe opening a cafe one day, but at the time it was just a passing conversation. Years later, when we decided to leave our respective jobs and work together, that old conversation resurfaced and we realised the idea had never really left us! What had started as a dream gradually became a serious plan, and we began investing our time, energy, and savings into bringing it to life. That was the moment The Big Chill Cafe truly began.
You wear many hats, husband and wife, co-founders and business partners. How do you separate disagreements at work from life at home?
Being a couple as well as co-founders is both a blessing and a learning experience. Naturally, there are moments when we disagree, whether it’s about strategy, operations, or the direction of the business. However, we’ve learned over the years that healthy disagreements ALWAYS lead to better decisions!! The trust, understanding, and partnership we’ve built over the years are the foundation of both our marriage and The Big Chill Cafe’s success.
The Big Chill inspires a lot of nostalgia. Was creating that feeling always intentional, or did it happen naturally?
Nostalgia has always been at the heart of The Big Chill Cafe, although it evolved as naturally as it was intentionally designed. From the very beginning, we wanted to create a neighbourhood cafe that felt warm, familiar, and comforting, a place where people could slow down, enjoy great food, and feel at home.
Today, that sense of familiarity and emotional connection remains one of the most meaningful aspects of The Big Chill Cafe experience, and we’re very grateful that it continues to resonate across generations.
What do you think people misunderstand about running a café?
On the face of it, running a cafe does seem to be about great food, beautiful interiors, and welcoming guests. While these are certainly important, they’re only the visible part of the business.
What goes on behind the scenes every single day is extensive planning, discipline, and hard work in terms of training the team, overseeing operations, handling unexpected challenges, and making countless decisions.
What convinced you that Dubai was the right place for The Big Chill’s first international home?
Dubai felt like a natural choice for The Big Chill Cafe’s first international home because, in many ways, it shares the same spirit that has always defined our brand, diverse, dynamic, and deeply connected through food and experiences.
Bringing The Big Chill Cafe to Dubai has been both an exciting milestone and a meaningful step in our journey, and we’re overwhelmed with the warm welcome that we’ve received from the community here.
Three years in, what have Dubai diners taught you about hospitality?
For us, what has stood out most is how much people value authenticity. In a city with countless dining options, guests are drawn not just to great food, but to places with a genuine story, a distinct personality, and a sense of consistency. We’ve learned that people remember how a place makes them feel just as much as they remember what they ate.
Dubai has taught us a great deal, and those lessons continue to shape how we serve our guests every day.
What’s next for The Big Chill Cafe?
Expansion is definitely on our minds, and we see significant potential for The Big Chill Cafe to grow further across the UAE. We are currently evaluating different formats, whether that means a Cakery and Creamery outlet, or another full dine-in cafe.
That said, we’ve always believed growth should be thoughtful and purposeful rather than rushed. While we’re excited about future opportunities, our immediate focus remains on strengthening the experience our guests know and love, maintaining the quality, consistency, and warmth that have been at the heart of The Big Chill Cafe since day one.
If you hadn’t opened The Big Chill Cafe, where do you think life would have taken you?
Given my Army background, one of the ideas we had discussed was launching a sports adventure company. But looking back twenty five years down the line, it’s hard to imagine our journey taking any other path.
What feels certain is that we would always have been drawn to building something together and having loads of fun doing it! The desire to create, connect with people, and build a sense of community was always there, it simply found its expression through The Big Chill Cafe. We love what we do because it is a perfect balance between regular daily hard work and exciting creative innovation!
Aseem, going from the Army to running a cafe is quite the career pivot. Which military lessons still guide the way you lead today?
The fundamentals of leadership and discipline remain the same, regardless of the profession. My time in the Army taught me the importance of loyalty, integrity, accountability, and leading by example, these values continue to guide me every day and it is these principles that have shaped the culture at The Big Chill Cafe and the way we lead our team.
Fawzia, you spent years working in women’s rights and development. How has that experience shaped the way you build teams and communities within the business?
Working in women’s rights and development shaped how I see people, it taught me to look beyond roles and titles and to really understand the conditions people work in, the challenges they carry, and the potential they bring when given the right environment.
Ultimately, those years taught me that leadership is less about authority and more about responsibility toward people. That belief continues to guide how we build culture, make decisions, and define success within the business.
