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Cilantro to own 14 stores in the new campus

By Heba ElSherif
Caravan Reporter

Gehad Elmor /CARAVAN STAF IT’S ALL CILANTRO: After the move to Katameya there will be five Cilantro cafes spread throughout the new campus.

The Cilantro coffee shop chain is preparing for the move to the American University in Cairo’s (AUC) new campus in Katameya after winning a four-year contract for all 14 commercial stores on campus.
Five of those spaces will be Cilantro outlets, and “The remaining nine will be rented out to other [franchises], including McDonald’s and Cinnabon,” said Walied Abdel Hakim, manager of the downtown Cilantro branch.
Cilantro was able to beat its competitors, which include the Americana Group and Beano’s, in meeting the demands put forward by the university, according to Abdel Hakim. Authorized representatives from AUC judged all bidders according to security regulations, health standards, cleanliness and rental prices, he added. The bid specified that only one company could have the ownership of the 14 stores.
“There will be an area manager as well as assistant managers chosen from the existing management crew,” Abdel Hakim added.
The local coffee house chain is scheduled to start setting up its stores on the new campus in June. All five stores will be located in different areas around campus and will vary in size according to their location.
Some chains like L’Aroma coffee offer lower prices at their stores on university campuses, but the prices of food and drinks offered at the new campus Cilantro will remain the same as their other stores, said Abdel Hakim. “They [Cilantro] have the right to [keep the prices the same],” said Nour Tarek, undeclared sophomore, adding that the chain’s reputation is what matters.
Characterized by its modern living-room style interiors and its comforting colors, Cilantro offers a wide range of home-made sandwiches, salads and cakes, as well as a variety of hot and cold drinks.
Catering to both early-risers and late-night workaholics, Cilantro is one of the neighboring coffee houses visited regularly by faculty and students at AUC since opening in 2001, between the Greek and Main campuses.
“I come here daily,” said Tarek. “The service is good. But the place is a bit tiny and it’s always crowded.”
Despite the usually loud crowd, some students prefer to study there, while drinking their coffee. “I come just about every second day,” said Jutta Gravesen, a forced migration and refugee studies (FMRS) graduate student, as she put her book down to take a sip of coffee.
Students show optimism for the new on-campus Cilantro. “I come here on a daily basis… and in the new campus there will be more students so I’m sure they [Cilantro] will make more profit,” said Nada Osama JRMC sophomore.
One of the main reasons for opening the downtown branch was its proximity to AUC, explained Abdel Hakim. By next fall, “sales will decrease, but this is expected,” he added.
However, he explained that the move will allow customers other than AUC students to come more often. “We hope to see more of our regular guests who know now that it [will be] no longer crowded,” he added.