Healthy food at affordable prices is what everybody yearns to get. With that promise Al-Souk multipurpose stores with a bakery and café all under one roof has arrived in Srinagar to tickle the taste buds of food lovers at the same time keep healthy food available for the people.
Situated in commercial hub, Karan Nagar opposite Srinagar Municipal Corporation office, Al Souk is one shop address to your food requirements. Be it tasty cookies, cakes or sumptuous pizzas to daily grocery requirements, you just have to visit the store and shop the best stuff on offer in the market under one roof without the hassle of moving from one shop to another in search for food stuff.
Al Souk has introduced some of the finest bakery products, imported grocery items and eating place café designed particularly with wood planks keeping in mind the Kashmir’s architectural and heritage.
“Our aim is to provide best and quality products to our clientele at affordable price,” says manager of Al Souk Suhail Ahmad who was busy attending customers.
Giving details about the store, Ahmad said, “It is a three-in-one store where we have place for café, we manufacturer our own bakery products and grocery items are also available. For customers who shop with us for more than Rs 500, we offer them free bread and for customers who shop above Rs 1,000, they get a free cake from our side.”
The store has specialised multi-grain breads, whole wheat breads, fruit loafs, garlic bread, brown bread, dates and walnut cakes, honey almond cakes, plain cakes, marble cakes, fruit cakes and chocolate cakes on display.
Besides these items we have sumptuous walnut and almond tars, cupcakes, pista cookies, chocolate cookies, which are under package in imported airtight boxes, which ensures the shelf life of these products upto 4 months.
“At Al Souk we ensure that all our products pass the quality standards as our focus is not maximising profit but to provide quality food at affordable prices. All our bakery stuff is manufactured at our unit in Zakura where every effort is aimed to provide best quality product,” Ahmad said adding that they use only Amul Butter to make their bakery products.
“Our management believes that our contribution would be to provide best quality at affordable prices,” he said adding that they have kept fewer profit margins to benefit customers.
“Otherwise there are some establishments who sell products at higher price in the name of branding, but we don’t believe in that concept,” he said that cookies packet which is sold at some of the high end bakeries at around Rs 300 to 400, we sell better cookies at half the price.
While the grocery and bakery items have become an instant hit among shoppers. Al Souk café and grill is turning to be hanging point for the people.
As per Ahmad, Al Souk in coming days will have full-fledged health section where they would offer organic food items without preservatives. Currently, they have super corn, which is 100 organic, and have zero percent cholesterol.
” There is a good demand for organic and foods without preservative. We are in talks, it is likely that in coming months we would be having full-fledged section for these type of food items.”
Al Souk offers wide range of food items at air-conditioned café in the centrally located area.
Due to availability of pizzas to sandwiches to burgers, the footfall is raising day by day.
” We offer white chicken pizza, red chicken pizza, plain pizza etc at affordable prices which you won’t get anywhere in the market with best quality,” said head chef of Al Souk café, Riyaz Ahmad Khan.
“If we compare with others, our quality is best and price most affordable,” claimed Khan.