Today we’d like to introduce you to Amar Bhuta.
Hi Amar , so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Dhaba Cafe was a Covid project and a long time dream to own a coffee business. As someone who loves gatherings and coffee I thought it would be a fun project to embark upon. Initially we acquired a little 1974 Cushman Trucksters which imitated Tuk Tuk’s (Rickshaw’s) in South Asian countries. We spent 6 mos fixing it up and preparing it to be a full time coffee truck. After realizing we couldn’t meet city standards we pivoted to doing coffee catering. We spread the word about our mobile espresso bar and it quickly took off! With companies like Woom, Meta, Kendra Scott, Vuori and many others booking us to serve up the coffee shop experience to their people. As time went we fell in love with this business and we wanted to continue to grow. So with the help of our friends at Rising Tides Roasting Collaborative we quickly learned to source and create our own blend of coffee. We used that was sourced from the best small and medium sized farms around the world creating our special “Tuk Tuk” Blend. We went all around town asking if people wanted to use our coffee as we wanted to people to have the best coffee’s at their shop. In 2024 we stumbled upon a coffee truck at the Pink Flamingo Food Court, previously known as the Pink Flamingo Plant Nursery that started to use our coffee then decided they wanted to sell so my wife and I took the opportunity to start Dhaba Cafe’s first permanent location. Upon starting this location we wanted to become Austin’s first South Asian Inspired specialty coffee shop, sourcing coffee from India to teach our patrons that India, like many others is a great coffee growing region. We also created our own flavors like Cardamom Rose, Saffron Honey, our famous shaken and unrefined latte. These quickly became a community favorite and today we are running 7 days a week with an amazing team. We continue to have our catering business which gets to spread the arms of Dhaba Cafe, while building a community right at our trailer. We have many regulars and have been able to work with local non profits and schools. Our mission is to celebrate you, our culture and our craft.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We started this idea during Covid, which was probably not the best time to start a coffee shop, Without understanding if we would be able to actually be able to gather there was a lot of unknowns. Additionally our Idea of sourcing coffee from India was really a shot in teh dark initially. While India was a huge coffee growing region it was very difficult to bring to the US and also bring high quality beans that we’ve become custom to. India did not have the infrastructure to ensure the coffee grew at the specialty level and also did not have a supply chain to the US. We did not give up for 3 years as we worked with our Roasting partners and Sara and Kimberly Sightseer Coffee who kept finding us avenues. After many failed attempts in 2025 we finally sourced an import partner who happened to be from Austin and who owned his own Farm. Vijay from Victory Java was embarking upon the same journey we were to bring Indian coffee stateside. So today we source from Victory Java an amazing partner. This has been a labor of love with a lot of uncertainty, but our commitments to achieving this goal are finally seeing some light
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We specialize in South Asian Inspired coffee drinks. We take the best of what we grew up with and offer them in ways we all know with our twist. The coffee we use in our business today as part of daily service all comes from India. Our flavors and our beverages are things that people of all cultures and walks of lives can enjoy, but get to experience something unique because we add spices, flavor combinations that are comfortable, but still take you on a flavor adventure. Our aim is to educate our customers about something they’ve never tried, but make it inviting and fun. We aim to bring our idea of a South Asian home that when you visit you’re always going to leave full and more satisfied than when you came.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
It seems cliche but just do it! Also ask lots of questions. Austin has a wealth of information and people who are doing so many things. Tap into your network and don’t be afraid to try something that’s totally unique. There will be a lot of set backs, but as long as you keep trying you will be able to jump the hurdles. There’s so much I wish I knew, but also kind of happy I didn’t know everything so I didn’t feel deterred. No problem is too big and you can definitely get over any hurdle as long as you don’t give up
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dhabacafeatx.com
- Instagram: @dhabacafeatx
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dhaba-cafe-austin
