Why Did Adidas Make a Shoe for a Pakistani Restaurant?

There is a 44 year old eatery called RAVI Restaurant.  The owner of the restaurant is Chaudary Abddul Hameed. He was serving authentic Pakistani food way before Dubai's skyscrapers were even built. They are famous for their Peshawari Mutton, Chicken, Mutton Handi, Daal Fry and the Brain Masala. The logo of the restaurant is actually a landmark in Pakistan called Minar-e-Pakistan and the word Ravi is the name of one of the five rivers in Punjab, Pakistan and also this is where Chaudary's mom came from because the road there is called Ravi Road. Ravi restaurant has been the go-to place of the working class in Dubai  because of its very affordable menu. This restaurant is the perfect blend of quality and affordability that has been the pillar of Ravi for 44 years. This is one of  the very few places in Dubai where you can find a taxi driver and a CEO who might dine together. When Anthony Bourdain (Celebrity Chef, Travel Documentarist) came to visit Ravi for one of his TV episodes back in 2010, he helped make Ravi more famous. 

 "You don't come to Ravi for the decor, you come for the food, '' said Bourdain for that beloved Pakistani Restaurant. And that has been proven true as Ravi is able to compete and even outlast many of the super fine dining restaurants in Dubai. Ravi's lack of pretentiousness is what ends eatery a classic status. That's what makes Adidas, one the biggest and well-known shoe brands in the world, choose Ravi restaurant to collaborate with the limited edition shoe. It's part of their original series called adilicious where they collaborate with 11 community-driven restaurants in 11 cities in the world. However, despite the recent fame and success of Ravi, a social media community Facebook page in Dubai made a post which says,

Attention!

"Ravi employees had not been paid right by their employers!!! "

This issue trended on social media and somehow affected it's decade long pristine reputation. As it turns out, it was a false claim. Nobody from the said community crossed checked with the Ravi management or even supported its claims. Waiters Shahji, Zubair, Ismail and Haneefa noted a lapse in dues payment during the pandemic. However, the owner paid the staff their dues as the brand was slowly recovering. Up until now, Ravi is still grounded on its roots. Even now, the restaurant at Satwa still uses basic tables, basic chairs and simple white plates. For Ravi restaurant, they prove that even if there are successes and setbacks, they have community members and patrons ready to help and sustain their business. As a result, a business would focus on authenticity, quality and service.