Saud Khan reopens Alif Café with the vintage decor intact + his parents behind a new Pakistani menu.
Story: Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Victoria Sedefian
Tastemaker: Saud Khan | @saudco10
Business: Kaafi NYC @kaafinyc | Azad Kitchen @azadkitchen | Alif Café @alifcafeny
Hometown: Technically Clifton park (I went to high school there)
Current city: Astoria, Queens
Personal style: Vintage watches, Adidas anything and baggy fits
Listening to: Recently Karan Aujla’s track Ashke
Favorite classic cocktail: Phony Negroni
Coffee or tea—and your order: Brown sugar cardamom chai hot
Biggest industry influence: Marco Pierre White, and my parents
Industry trend that should end: Unnecessary deconstruction of traditional dishes. If you can’t cook the dish traditionally, don’t tweak it or play with it
It took a little longer than the projected August 10 opening from our early intel feature on the planned re-opening of Alif Café in Glens Falls, but owner Saud Khan hasn’t been slacking. As the owner of Harlem and Lower East Side locations of his chai-and-coffee shop Kaafi NYC, the chef behind Azad Kitchen, a Pakistani dinner pop up in his LES location, and owner of an upstate cleaning company he operates largely by Zoom, you wouldn’t think he’d need another project. After seeing the growth of Yemeni coffee shops in the region, Khan decided to revives his original chai shop, Alif Café in Glens Falls, with a Pakistani menu and his recently retired parents (former owners of Tandoor Grill in Lake George) running the show.
During the 2020 pandemic you amassed a following as ‘ChaiGuy’ on TikTok, so it wasn't a surprise that you moved to NYC and opened Kaafi, a Pakistani chai + coffeehouse in Harlem followed by a second location in the Lower East Side. Why reopen Alif Cafe upstate now?
SK: The plan was to always open back up in Glens Falls. Construction rescheduling and on going projects in New York City caused a bit of a delay, but Glens falls was just a tough cookie to crack. I definitely don’t give up easily.
In addition to your Kaafi locations in NYC, you started a dinner pop up. How did that come about?
SK: I actually started Azad Kitchen the same year I opened the first Alif Café. When Alif was off season, I didn’t want to waste time not improving my skills. So while I was studying at SUNY Adirondack Culinary School I decided I’d take a stab at doing dinners. I did my first dinner at 333 Delaware Ave at the 333 cafe which is now closed. I’d come in every other Sunday and do a dinner when they were closed. At the time it was $20 per person and I was just excited I got to cook for other people. Fast forward to post-Covid Alif Cafe in Glens Falls and I got a catering offer in NYC! After doing the catering—which was a 12-course dinner—I had the opportunity of doing a residency at 15 Essex. At that time there was nothing like this in NYC. A Pakistani dinner service wasn’t even a thought, so we instantly became a hit.
I realized then that I’d come down here to open something long term. Then I opened Kaafi because the general concept of a Pakistani cafe and chai place also didn’t exist in the city yet. So by the time I was 2 years in with Kaafi, I was looking to bring in Azad Kitchen as a standalone space, but I wanted to make sure we’d have a sold-out crowd before we even thought of opening up.
Why was it important to you to showcase Pakistani cuisine in a pop up?
I always represent my Pakistani roots proudly, but this type of service didn’t exist because it’s so tough to pull off. To get up every day to prep a complex cuisine that isn’t meant to be served like French or Japanese, and to try to make it elegant isn’t easy. I like the complexity and the challenge so I went for it.
Did this experience in the city lead to your revival of Alif Café by realizing Pakistani food can operate from a coffee shop?
Alif’s revival is commitment to my community and my roots. I wanted to give this to upstate before I even opened a standalone place in NYC. Maybe it wasn’t the time for it (when I first opened in Glens Falls) and the diversity definitely scares people, but I think I just couldn’t give up.
You’re in the city full time for work but you also have another business, a commercial cleaning company. How did that start and how do you have time to operate it?!
My brother and I opened it during Covid because the need for cleaning labor was in demand. I was also interested in seeing a business in a different industry. I have a team that runs it and I can manage everything through Zoom meetings… [laughs}
In our earlier conversation this summer, you talked about the rise of Yemeni coffee shops and your own consideration bringing Pakistani cafés to the upstate scene. Are you still considering the idea?
Yes, I am looking to expand the scene. Over the next 10 years I believe that South Asian culture will play a huge role in mainstream culture. And when you think of the best chai or samosa, or anything Pakistani food related, I want you to think of Kaafi or Alif. So expanding is a crucial part of the plan.
Thanks, Saud. Having reviewed the original Alif Cafe in 2021, and visited both the Harlem and Lower East Side locations of Kaafi, I’m looking forward to heading back to Glens Falls to check out your parents’ menu in Alif Café 2.0!
Alif Cafe 193 Glen Street, Glens Falls. | Visit
Read our earlier feature on Khan’s decision to reopen Alif Café in Glens Falls