A home away from home

It all started when 25-year-old Rasha Zahid’s parents encouraged her to make something about herself after she had been away from the Kingdom for more than ten years to finish her studies.
Zahid is now the proud owner of a stylish, unique boutique ‘The Store’ that sells merchandise from the United States for women. The Store provides services in beauty and food as well. Pancakes and breakfast are served all day; baked cakes and cookies are made daily; and comfort food like sloppy joes and mac & cheese are made to order to take away or eat on either the terrace or in the indoor dining area.
Zahid believes that people should always build upon something they already have, what they’ve learned, and who they are as individuals. While Zahid was still trying to figure out the latter, her love for literature, music, and a major in philosophy got the better of her.
“The Store aspires to be a home away from home for young girls and women. I hope to create an environment that is somewhat detached from what we are used to,” said Zahid. “We want to provide a glimpse into the global cultures and traditions. California surf movement, French Country home-ware, tribal and ethnic inspired goods, and the laid-back style are concepts that we wish to ingrain within the core of our vision,” she added.
The Store offers products that exemplify widespread tastes among youths around the world, such as in, comic magazines, humor books and toilet-reading literature, novelty gadgets and gifts for men, women and children, eco-friendly handmade candles made with recycled materials, and of course, fashion items. “I hope such modern concepts will provide a sense of novelty to customers who have not had exposure to products that cater to universal tastes. The Store combines and integrates all these genres and concepts into a one-stop destination for young women of all ages,” said Zahid. “We offer a wide range of things that are collected both through random, one-off purchases, and bulk buying at trade shows in the US. I hoped to create a sense of excitement for the customer and to build a reputation as an ever-changing and dynamic retail store; with products on constant rotation, brands will vary either seasonally or annually,” she added.
When Zahid initially moved back to Saudi Arabia after 11 years of living abroad, she was daunted by the prospect of having to leave behind everything she loved about living abroad. The Kingdom to her was still holding on to tradition. “Little did I know that our generation does not settle, and I was not a settler either. Instead, I came back and found inspiration and had the time, space, financial means and the opportunity to dream,” she said. “This is the beauty of being Saudi, we are not limited; we have a blank slate to use as an outlet to dream and to dream big,” she added.
“I wanted to create The Store to inspire our young women of all ages to dream, to feel that there is more out there and that we can access it and use this inspiration to master our own interests, tastes, goals and of course to shop, eat and hang out the way only we girls can,” said Zahid.
When asked about what she loves the most about her job, Zahid said: "Cooking is the best part of it. I love creating new recipes, flipping pancakes on my flat grill, and working with Arwa, the kitchen manager, who is also my cousin and a great friend. We make a good combination and mesh perfectly,” she said.
Zahid selects most of the products based on how they make her feel. The trick, she said, is to choose what you love instead of what you think others will love. “As it turns out, most of us truly do like similar things. We all want to look pretty at parties, and we all want to be comfortable at home. So I provide a medium between both with comfortable fashion pieces,” she said. “I love vintage and it inspires how I choose the home accessories. The same applies to beauty products, such as, nail polish, creams, shower gels, make up and fragrances. In addition to swimwear, we provide lingerie and sleepwear section, where you can pick up gifts for brides or just for yourself. I hope the setup speaks for itself. We all make it special by simply being at The Store,” she added.
The idea behind The Store is to create a place where people can get away yet feel at home, according to Zahid. “I hope that the comfy armchairs, home-cooked food, familiar shows on the TV, relaxed lighting and ambience engages the customer in a new experience, but one that has a nostalgic feel to it,” she said. “I find inspiration everywhere. Writing on the walls, places I’ve seen, things I’ve seen, and people I’ve met. It's life; you find it in some way or another,” she added.
The Store was named such because Zahid wanted the place to be a one-stop store, where customers can find most of the things they need. “In Western history, you would read about these general stores in each town that sold everything from groceries to linens and tobacco. These general stores were simply referred to as 'the store' by the locals; I wanted to recreate that,” she said.
Zahid hopes to recreate the entire experience of 'The Store' in Riyadh someday soon.