What will happen to Dhaka’s Trump Café now?
With Trump’s tenure as the 45th US president coming to an end, will the entrepreneurs of Trump Café change its name? Will they rename it as Biden Café? Perhaps Joe Café?
When Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, came to power in 2017, entrepreneurs Azaharul Islam and Saiful Islam set up a restaurant at Zigatola Bus Stop on Satmasjid Road.
They named the restaurant after Donald Trump – Trump Café. To their surprise, the café became a hit overnight among food lovers for its notorious namesake – the most powerful man in the world. Customers come in, eat and take selfies with Trump's cardboard cutout at the very entrance of the café.
Trump Café has become so popular that Dhaka city residents now know the 14-storey building as "Trump building", whose original name is Keari Crescent.
Young couples can be seen whispering sweet nothings sitting at the café, the walls of which are decorated with a large-sized wallpaper of the White House. A suited-up pinup of Trump sits there, smiling at customers.
However, the reign of one of the worst presidents in the history of the US is coming to an end today.
Will the entrepreneurs of Trump Café change its name to something else? Or, will they rename it as Biden Café? Perhaps Joe Café?
"Not just you, but many of our customers are also asking whether we are going to change the name. They are also wondering whether we will rename it after Biden or Joe", said Sajal, one of the staff members of Trump Café, when this correspondent visited the restaurant on Monday.
"Some customers ask us whether the restaurant is operated from the US. They ask if Trump knows that there is a café in Dhaka named after him," Sajal added.
Although Trump makes his way onto newspaper headlines for his political position as a populist as well as a nationalist, these two entrepreneurs made Trump their idol as a hotshot businessman. And this was the main reason behind naming their restaurant after Trump.
And they want to keep the name unchanged.
"Never. We will not change the name of Trump Café. I respect Trump not because he is a president, I respect him only because he is a successful businessman. If I liked him as a president, I would have named the restaurant 'President Café'," said Azaharul Islam, one of the two owners of Trump Café.
Azaharul said at present the number of customers has come down a lot. In the early years, there was much hype about the name. Their business boomed then.
"In the beginning, we served around 500 customers daily. The number has come down to around 200 now," said Azaharul, who believes the departure of Trump from presidency will not affect their business.
On Monday, Miraz Hossain (not his real name), came to Trump Café for the first time as his beloved wanted to eat out. Miraz dislikes Trump because Trump, he feels, destabilised the political scene in the US.
However, Imtiaz Hossain (not his real name), who has been visiting Trump Café regularly since it opened in 2017, loves Donald Trump, irrespective of whether he is in power or not.
"I don't want to say whether he is good or bad. People will remember him forever," said Imtiaz. His girlfriend, however, has a different view of Trump.
"I love Trump as a politician. But as a human being, I do not like him in the least," she said.