The chicken kebab platter ($8.99) comes with two marinated chicken skewers, basmati rice, cucumber yogurt dip and a grilled tomato.[/caption]

What started out as a pen pal relationship in 1987 has evolved into a successful 26-year marriage and 13-year-old business for Sadiq and Lisa Islam.

Shahi Foods—shahi is a Persian word meaning "royal"—opened in 2001 as a small 1,400-square-foot grocery store. The couple has since expanded the grocery store to 5,000 square feet, offering a variety of teas, coffees, packaged foods and other items from throughout the world, including the Middle East, South Asia and the Mediterranean. Sadiq said he is always overjoyed when a customer comes in and spots a product from his or her native country.

"We carry a little bit of everything," Sadiq said. "Probably we could do better if we have a bigger store."

Having a larger location is not out of the question for the Islams, who said they are already weighing their options for growing the store's footprint.

In March 2014 the Islams expanded their services when their daughter Jamila opened Shahi Cafe in an adjoining 1,500-square-foot suite.

"I felt I had a responsibility to take care of the restaurant," said Jamila, who is also a licensed medical aesthetician.

She said the goal of the cafe was to reflect all the cultures featured in the grocery store. She hired an Afghani chef and an Iranian chef to assist with preparing dishes from throughout Asia, including the Middle East.

"Everything is fresh-made daily," Jamila said. "It's a huge advantage because of the grocery store."

Menu items include kebab platters; biryani—a flavorful rice pilaf; curry; gyros; stews; and lassi, a yogurt shake.

Each morning employees make dough for the breads, which are then cooked before each order in a tandoori oven. Even the zaatar sumac salad dressing—a tangy olive oil-based dressing—is made fresh to order for the shahi salad, Jamila said.

The Islams eat there every day, and Lisa said her favorite dish is the chicken kebab platter, which comes with basmati rice and a roasted tomato.

The grocery's butcher shop supplies meat—including fish imported from Sadiq's native Bangladesh as well as India—for the cafe. Using fresh meats from the butcher shop has made a difference in the taste of the kebabs, Jamila said, which are a customer favorite. Because kebabs are a universal food, she said customers from many cultures enjoy the flavors.

"I always hear this is the best kebab in Austin," Jamila said.