Friends of Tabletop: Meet Hanadi from Asali!
Friends of Tabletop is a place where we share who we love working with. This can range from a client, influencer/blogger, or special someone who simply means a lot to the Tabletop Team. Colleagues and friends who we’ve met throughout our journey with Tabletop Media Group make us apart of who we are.
This month, we’re featuring Hanadi Asad, owner of Asali Cafe!
Tell us about Asali and your position there.
I am the owner and founder of Asali along with my husband. Asali is a cafe with a wide variety of different dessert options from different parts of the world. We serve gourmet coffee, tea and many desserts. We take pride in the looks matching the taste and give a fusion of different ideas and flavors. The cafe itself is a modern, simple European style cafe with different seating options. We take pride in our diversity and everyone who comes in to our cafe. The goal is to bring everyone together to mingle in a fun, clean modern place.
What's your favorite thing about working in the Triangle?
I love the people and the diversity of this area. That’s what sets Asali apart. So many different people always find somewhere that reminds them of a place they’ve traveled to or a reminder of back home and we love being able to give them that.
What's your coffee order/tea order?
Single orchid pour over or a short americano!
Do you have a favorite/fun story about how Asali got its start?
The name. It is an equal combination of me and my husband's last names! It’s so special because it blended both of us together and it has a beautiful flow to it that we feel represents how our lives together is. I always have to give credit to him because he came up with the idea!
What's your favorite dish to eat?
Can’t say I have a favorite dish but anything my Mom makes.
What is your least favorite food?
I don’t like pasta!
What's your favorite thing at Asali?
My favorite dessert is the Tiramisu because it’s made with an Asali twist with Turkish coffee in it.
What's your favorite restaurant in the Triangle/other favorite local business to support?
Cilantro! It’s a wonderful small business and I love supporting them, they have amazing food!
What's the most useful lesson you've learned from being a small business owner?
I’ve got a lot to learn still. Networking and having a support system is probably the most important. As a small business you really need a strong support system and I’ve found that in a lot of other women in the industry. Having a great professional support system and friends and family- I call it my “Hanadi Tribe”. It’s extremely difficult and you need the right support system to get you through your downs back into your ups.
Who impacted you the most in your career?
My Father. He had a professional job after he immigrated and eventually took over running a business with his brothers. He had done it so successfully, through his mentoring and business ethics that he pushed over 30 employees to move on to be their own entrepreneurs. I aspire to do the same. He was an amazing person and I hope to encourage others to push through and find their own niche too!