**Photo Credit: A&A Photo Gallery (Alerjandro Perez)**

Sawsan Abublan is CEO and Co-Founder of one of the most rapidly expanding fast-casual restaurants in the United States, Shawarma Press. Her fascinating story involves a career pivot of working 17 years as a pharmacist to pursuing her dream as a successful restaurateur. While managing a team of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Dallas for more than a decade, she noticed the Mediterranean food she and her family craved was almost non-existent, even though other ethnic restaurants in the area were plentiful. With Texas well known for its diverse cuisines, Sawsan recognized the opportunity and has succeeded in bringing authentic, healthy, Mediterranean fare and fusion dishes to Texas as well as other parts of the country.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

Growing up, I was inspired by my father, an internal medicine physician, who dedicated his life to helping families and children in low-income neighborhoods overseas. It fascinated me how healthcare professionals are more than just an office visit because they touch people’s lives in so many other ways. To me, it always seemed like a form of service rather than a job. When it was time for college, I chose a field not as hectic as medicine, but just as rewarding. I attended Pharmacy School in Amman, Jordan, and graduated with honors in 1996. Shortly after that, I met my husband, Ehap Sabri, who was a Ph.D. student at the University of Cincinnati. We started our journey together in Cincinnati, Ohio, thousands of miles away from where we first met in Amman!

Ehap graduated with honors from UC and we both moved to Irving, Texas in the summer of 1998. We’ve been calling the Dallas-Fort Worth area home ever since.

What inspired you to start your business?

Owning my own business was something I dreamed about for many years. My job as a pharmacist for 17 years was extremely rewarding on a personal level, and I gained my management expertise through that career. However, I always knew I would be happier having my own business and being my own boss!

Having my husband as my quarterback with his extensive experience in supply chain and management consulting, combined with my healthcare and management background, I decided it was time to pursue my dream.

Food and Beverage (F&B) was always the industry of choice, despite its high risk, simply because of its vast diversity. I was challenged by knowing there is always something new in F&B, and we were looking for the next new thing.

So how did I come up with the concept for Sharma Press? Shawarma is a super popular wrap in the Middle East. You can compare it to burgers in the states or tacos in Latin America. Shawarma is made of thinly sliced chicken or beef marinated in special spices, then stacked as a tower and shaped as a cone. This mighty tower of goodness is then placed on an upright grill where it rotates by the flame until the layers are cooked to golden brown perfection. The meat is then shaved off and incorporated into Shawarma wraps, then pressed further on a flat grill until the bread is nice and crispy.

I grew up consuming a couple of those chicken or beef shawarmas several times a week, and this was also the case for all our friends and family members. However, searching for shawarma joints around Dallas-Fort Worth to get my shawarma fix landed me nowhere, as I wasn’t able to find the food I craved. This led to discovering the next “new thing” that was missing in Texas, and the first Shawarma Press® restaurant made its debut in May 2017.

We chose the name Shawarma Press to describe the wrap “Shawarma” and its crisping method on the flat grill, the “Press”

Where is your business based?

Shawarma Press Franchising is based in Irving, Texas with restaurant locations in Irving and San Antonio. Further expansions are planned in other Texas cities, Oklahoma, and Florida. We also recently signed a landmark agreement with Walmart and will be operating seven Shawarma Press restaurants inside Walmart stores throughout Texas.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

It was very important to validate the Shawarma concept before searching for locations, so I collaborated with my husband and my team on marketing surveys, feasibility studies, and SWOT analyses to make sure the concept was valid. We also consulted with franchise experts to make sure this concept was franchise-friendly, because I had a feeling this was going to be the next new thing!

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

Marketing techniques encourage people to come into the store, but the quality of the food and the employees serving it is what convinces them to return and bring more guests with them. I realized early on that I had to focus on the best food quality and have stellar customer service. My goal is that when customers see my social media advertisement or TV commercial and decide to visit the restaurant, they will have a wonderful experience and tell others about it. Word of mouth and good reviews is definitely what bring in more customers.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge is education. We must continually explain to customers what Shawarma means because the concept is new. We addressed this with social media awareness and in-store photography, which certainly helped. The other challenge we face is the same as many other restaurants -- the scarcity of qualified employees. We overcome this by offering higher wages, referral bonuses, and retention efforts of existing employees.

How do you stay focused?

I can’t do much without my 3 Cs! Clean workspace, Computer, and Coffee!

These three things can get my day started, but for me to last through the night hours, I keep a rolling task list. I keep the list on my phone, my computer, and on printed paper! I enjoy checking off each task as I complete it, even though more tasks are constantly added. I also like to remind myself to breathe, take breaks, and spend time with my husband and two daughters.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

There are four core values that our business lives by Social Responsibility, Integrity, Trustworthiness, and Excellence. These values are embraced by everyone on our team and are extended to our customers and community. Our business engages with local charities to ease families’ hunger and give back to the community, something that makes our business stand out from the competition and creates a warm feeling in our hearts.

We also have four key differentiators that the QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) industry seems to be lacking.

We are a QSR that:

1) Is proud to service authentic recipes

2) Offers a simple yet flexible menu

3) Insists on high-quality ingredients like premium beef and all-natural chicken

4) Is committed to an excellent customer experience

Our customers welcomed the new take on fast food because they are seeking a healthier alternative to the current offerings.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

The marketing strategy truly is a combination of many techniques. I can’t say that one method alone will get the word out, because people respond differently to different marketing methods. Therefore, I use a combination of social media marketing, printed flyers and coupons, TV commercials, and as I mentioned earlier. an amazing menu with great people who serve it.

In my experience, radio advertisement is the least effective method since listeners are now more geared towards personal playlists and entertainment.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Listen to that inner voice that sparks your attention, BUT before you quit your job and pursue whatever that dream might be, DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Explore your options and be as certain as possible your idea is validated. Consult with experts, use all available resources around you, and don’t be afraid to dismiss ideas that fail the validation test. You can always improve on it any ideas, so keep in mind that your ego is not always your friend in business matters!

What's your favorite app and book? Why?

My phone won’t stop ringing all day, and 50% of those calls are spam! So, my favorite app is “Hiya” because it helps me differentiate between spam calls and real calls, and that helps me stay focused on important calls.

My favorite book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey.

To me, those seven habits are the best way to tackle any project, personal or professional!

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Habit 4: Think Win/Win

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

Habit 6: Synergize

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

I love Homebase for scheduling, time tracking, and payroll. It is easy to use and covers every aspect of employee time management. What I like most about it is the paperless onboarding feature, where employees are prompted to fill new-hire paperwork electronically, thereby saving time and trees, while providing a more secure platform for very sensitive documents.

Who is your business role model? Why?

In all honesty, it has always been my Mom!

Growing up I watched her successfully manage my father’s medical practice, including the appointments, the phone calls, and the filings, all while running a six-person person household from A-Z. She was not only dad’s assistant, but she was also his confidante, his advisor, and his power bank. Mom had a very optimistic outlook about life. She always saw the beauty in things, and the “cup half full” with all events, no matter how dark they seemed. She is still my inspiration, even 10 years after her passing. (RIP mommy, I love you :))

How do you balance work and life?

It literally is a balancing act! You just must try, try, and keep trying. It gets harder theses days because we live in a 24/7 constant contact world! You plan an event with your family, and your phone goes off, or your email is bombarded, or your text messages won’t stop. Taking care of business is easy but feeling that it is at the expense of your personal and family time makes it 10 times harder!

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Meditation and thoughtful prayers keep me from losing my mind! I like to admire the sunset, the falling leaves when seasons change, the shapes of the clouds, and sounds of nature like birds, water streams, and the rain. All this makes me connect with my surroundings and appreciate the beauty of things, which gets easily overlooked when we are focused on our computer and phone screens.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

Shawarma Press recently signed a master lease agreement with Walmart, which will allow us to open inside Walmart stores across the US depending on availability. So, the next six months are going to be super exciting for us, because we just celebrated the opening of the first Walmart store in San Antonio, and we have three more stores opening within the next 3 weeks, and seven more under development, so talk about being busy!

How can our readers connect with you?

https://shawarmapressfranchise.com/

https://shawarmapress.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ShawarmapressDFW

https://www.instagram.com/shawarmapress_dfw/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sawsan-abublan-376836a/