Celebrating Cultural Heritage with Yallaa
Cultural Events
Cooking Workshops
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Yallaa Catering
Yallaa Café
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About us
Embark on a cultural journey with Yallaa, an award-winning social enterprise in Northern Ireland, championing Arab culture, heritage, and arts. Yallaa’s mission is to bridge cultural gaps and foster a diverse, inclusive society.
We offer cultural training, cookery workshops, and vibrant events, celebrating Arab heritage while empowering Arab communities, including refugees and asylum seekers. Our passionate team is dedicated to promoting understanding, appreciation, and creating lasting impacts. Discover more about our vision for cultural harmony and how you can be a part of it.
Awards and Recognitions:
Rym Akhonzada’s leadership and Yallaa’s impactful work have garnered recognition through prestigious awards, including:
• Social Enterprise NI Highly Recommended Leader of the Year: Acknowledging Rym’s exceptional leadership in steering Yallaa toward positive social impact.
• Social Enterprise NI Highly Recommended Team of the Year: Recognising the collective efforts of the Yallaa team under Rym’s guidance.
• EMEEN Inspirational Entrepreneur Award: Celebrating Rym’s entrepreneurial spirit and the inspiration Yallaa brings to the community.
Connect with Us
"Yallaa provides a corrective to the narrative about Belfast..." 🧡✨
Over 100 of you have shared why Yallaa belongs at 2 Royal Avenue. One supporter captured our mission perfectly:
"I brought my work team from England for lunch and they were really impressed. ...Yallaa provides a corrective to the narrative about Belfast being small and small-minded. We need more community spaces, not fewer, in the city centre."
This is exactly why we’ve been here since August 2022. We aren’t just serving coffee; we are showing the world that Belfast is a diverse, welcoming, and inclusive global city. 🌍
We have hit 108 voices 📣 but we aren't stopping there. As the Council reviews the future of 2RA, every single entry on our support form adds weight to the argument for Social Value over market logic. If you haven't added your voice yet, it takes just 60 seconds to help us protect this "oasis of creativity."
👉https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7_ftpI5gB8f5woPD80egzM-OLK-_mTCmvfkvhBwVbOr4-Dg/viewform?usp=header
Help us reach our next milestone of 150! Please Share this post and Tag a friend who believes in our vision. ☕🏛️
#YallaaCafe #2RoyalAvenue #BelfastCommunity #SocialEnterprise #UnitedBelfast #BelfastCulture
Yallaa Cafe has been a social enterprise anchor in 2RA since August 2022. As the Council looks at the future of the building, we want to demonstrate...
docs.google.com
90 Voices. 10 to go! 🚀🧡
Since we shared our story 2 days ago, 90 of you have filled out our support form. We are blown away by the messages coming in. You've told us that Yallaa is "the soul of the building" and a "safe haven for diversity" in Belfast.
...
We are just 10 people away from our goal of 100 voices.
If you haven't had a chance to add your support yet, now is the moment! It takes less than a minute and gives us the evidence we need to show the Council that Yallaa belongs in the future of 2 Royal Avenue.
Can you be one of the final 10?
👉 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7_ftpI5gB8f5woPD80egzM-OLK-_mTCmvfkvhBwVbOr4-Dg/viewform?usp=header
Let’s hit 100 before the weekend! Thank you for standing with us. ☕🌍
@followers @top fans Belfast City Council Belfast Business Info 2 Royal Avenue
Yallaa Cafe has been a social enterprise anchor in 2RA since August 2022. As the Council looks at the future of the building, we want to demonstrate...
docs.google.com
57 voices and counting! We are feeling the love, Belfast. 🧡✨
Since we shared our story yesterday, 57 of you have already stepped up to support Yallaa staying at 2 Royal Avenue. Reading your comments about how our cafe, workshops and festivals have made 2RA feel like "home" ...is exactly why we do what we do.
We are so close to our first big milestone of 100 supporters🙌
As a social enterprise, we don’t have a massive marketing budget—our strength is you. If Yallaa has ever made you a "happy belly," taught you a new skill, or made you feel welcome in the heart of the city, please help us spread the word today:
Tag a friend in the comments who has visited us at 2RA.
Share this post to your Stories or your Timeline.
Send the link to one person who believes in a diverse, inclusive Belfast.
Every single form filled out is a powerful message to the Council that social value belongs in 2 Royal Avenue. Let’s hit 100 by the end of the day!
👉 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7_ftpI5gB8f5woPD80egzM-OLK-_mTCmvfkvhBwVbOr4-Dg/viewform?usp=header
Thank you for standing with us since 2022. ☕🌍
#YallaaCafe #2RoyalAvenue #BelfastCommunity #SupportLocal #SocialEnterprise #UnitedBelfast
Yallaa Cafe has been a social enterprise anchor in 2RA since August 2022. As the Council looks at the future of the building, we want to demonstrate...
docs.google.com
Wow! 34 voices in just few hours! 🧡
A huge thank you to everyone who has filled out our support form today. Your comments about our festivals, the craft club, and our cafe are exactly what the Council needs to hear.
Our goal is to hit 100 supporters by tomorrow. Can you help us... get there?
👇
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7_ftpI5gB8f5woPD80egzM-OLK-_mTCmvfkvhBwVbOr4-Dg/viewform?usp=header
#YallaaBelfast #2RoyalAvenue
Yallaa Cafe has been a social enterprise anchor in 2RA since August 2022. As the Council looks at the future of the building, we want to demonstrate...
docs.google.com
Yallaa. A heartbeat in Belfast 🏛️✨
When we opened our doors nearly four years ago, Yallaa didn’t just open a cafe, we opened a space for hope, diversity, and authentic hospitality in Royal Avenue.
From our early days in August 2022 to the massive milestone of our 2023 Eid Festival ...(welcoming 3,000+ people!), we have been the "silent partner" making the magic happen. Whether it was the Lottery-funded Fonoon Festival or a simple Arabic calligraphy workshop, we’ve worked tirelessly to turn 2RA into a true community oasis.
The Reality of Our Mission: As a social enterprise, our "profit" is measured in the lives we change. Unlike management firms, we don't receive a fee to be in 2 Royal Avenue. In fact:
• In our initial years, 100% of our profits were reinvested to fund community programmes within 2RA, including English classes for newcomers, a weekly Women’s Craft Club, and diverse cultural workshops (Calligraphy, Cookery, Language).
• We delivered the landmark 2023 Eid Festival (3,000+ attendees) and the Lottery-funded Fonoon Festival, establishing 2RA as a "neutral space" and an oasis of diversity.
• We contribute 10% of our turnover back to the Council to support this building.
• We operate without financial subsidies, even during the recent challenging months for the hospitality industry.
• We have invested our own specialist knowledge and heart to ensure every event at 2RA—big or small—is catered with absolute professionalism.
Our Vision: The building is entering a new chapter, and while we aren’t bidding for the long-term lease of the entire site, we are determined to remain the Hospitality Partner that Belfast knows and loves. We believe the future of 2RA must remain inclusive, efficient, and rooted in social value.
How you can help: We’re now asking you to stand with us. Help us let the decision-makers know that Yallaa Cafe is an essential part of the 2 Royal Avenue story. We need to show the decision-makers how much Yallaa means to Belfast. Please take 60 seconds to fill in our Support Form. Your voice will help us stay in the home we love.
Link Here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7_ftpI5gB8f5woPD80egzM-OLK-_mTCmvfkvhBwVbOr4-Dg/viewform?usp=publish-editor
Share this post, tag a councillor, or drop a comment about what Yallaa means to you. Let’s keep building hope together. ☕🌍
@followers @top fans 2 Royal Avenue Belfast City Council
Yallaa Cafe has been a social enterprise anchor in 2RA since August 2022. As the Council looks at the future of the building, we want to demonstrate...
docs.google.com
Delighted to attend Belfast City of Santuary, a Celebration of Welcome and Hope in Belfast City Hall
#refugeeswelcome #sanctuary #belfast #hope #home #yallaa