Coffee house Damascena is joining forces with Acorn Children’s Hospice to mark 7 years of trading in Birmingham.
Now with 4 sites across the city, the popular Middle-Eastern brand is celebrating its continued success with a fundraiser for the local charity, which provides care and support for families of life limited and life threatened children.
From 7th to 13th June Damascena will be donating 10% of sales to Acorn’s Children’s Hospice across all branches.
After a turbulent year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, owner A Zein Al-Abdeen says giving back to the community is the best way the team could celebrate the milestone while helping others.
He says:
We’re thrilled to hit another milestone and want to repay the kindness the city has shown us over the years. Hopefully by donating 10% of every transaction – for the week commencing June 7th – we’ll be able to raise a substantial amount for this brilliant local charity that does so much to help others.
Employing 115 people across the venues; Damascena is now a household name in Birmingham, with shops located in central Birmingham as well as Jewellery Quarter, Harborne and Moseley.
Mr Al-Abdeen says:
I would like to thank every person who has helped Damascena grow in popularity, customers, community, establishments and, of course, the amazing team that work so hard to give customers a positive experience every time.
The amazing people who have been there from the start, past and current have been a part of our family and all played an instrumental role in the growth of Damascena. We’re proud to be independent and we’re proud to create jobs for local people.
Initially opening in Moseley in May 2014, Damascena started life as a small café with just 12 covers. Despite being nervous about how a Middle-Eastern coffee house may be received, from the very first day the sense of community was palpable.
It was a whirlwind opening day and by 1pm queues spilled over to the payment. We met some of the Moseley Village locals and realised how lucky we were. Customers saw that we were so busy and offered to help; some of them even helped take orders to tables and clear other tables. We knew in that moment we’d picked the right location to open, says Mr Al-Abdeen.
It wasn’t long before the opportunity to expand came along and a site opened alongside Colmore Row, followed by Harborne and Jewellery Quarter which all continue to thrive.
Concluding, Mr Al-Abdeen says:
We’re both grateful for and proud of all we’ve achieved over the last 7 years and we hope to celebrate many more milestones. It’s an honour to be supporting Acorn Children’s Hospice and we hope to see lots of our customers during our fundraising week.
Olivia Kaluna, Fundraising Manager at Acorns, adds:
Damascena has become such a well-loved and respected Birmingham brand over the years, so to join forces with the restaurant to celebrate their birthday is a huge honour.
After such a challenging year for everyone, we’re so grateful that Damascena are using this milestone to help support the local community through our work. The money raised will go directly to the hundreds of local children and families who need us, every single year and make a real difference.
The name “Damascena” (meaning Damascus Rose) reflects not only the city that inspires the food, but also the beautifully themed coffee houses. Customers can enjoy coffee and traditional sweet bakes like baklava as well as mezze, wraps and pastries. Everything is made in-house and fresh to order.
You can find out more information about Damascena by visiting www.damascena.co.uk.