A new shop featuring desserts, smoothies, boba tea and more is slated to open in the coming weeks in a retail plaza just off of Layton Avenue.
Royal’s Smoothies & Pastries is the name of the business, which is owned and operated by Hala Elmughrabi and her sister-in-law Malaak Dahche with support from Elmughrabi’s husband Murad Dahche, a local entrepreneur who operates two local vape shops.
The business, which is slated to open in December or early January, will be located at 812 W. Layton Ave. in a retail space next door to Paradise Roastery, a local shop specializing in Arabic-style coffee, spices and sweets.
The 2,000 square foot storefront is currently being built out to accommodate both a kitchen and retail space, which will feature an interior decorated in black, white and gold with pops of royal purple. A white feather wall will provide a canvas for any number of Instagrammable moments.
Elmughrabi is a graduate of Greendale High School who completed the ProStart Program during her junior and senior years. As head of the pastry and baking team, she won the Wisconsin State competition for two years running and competed on behalf of Greendale High School in Washington D.C.
After graduation, she took the skills that she honed and launched a home-based cake business during the pandemic, creating cupcakes, sweet treats and custom cakes for a growing list of customers.
To launch the shop, Emulghrabi partnered with her sister in law,, an accounting and finance graduate of UW Milwaukee’s School of Business, who recently left the corporate world behind to assist in making Royal’s Smoothies and Pastries a reality.
The menu at Royal’s will include cakes, cupcakes, cake pops, cookies and brownies, plus lotus cups and other desserts created by Elmughrabi.
The shop will also sell a variety of smoothies (including tropical options like pina colada and mango) along with milk teas (including boba) and “cocktails,” specialty drinks popular in Lebanon which feature a smoothie base topped with a cream-based honey-scented custard and topped with fruit. Sweetened fruit salads, coffee drinks and other beverages will also be available.
You can follow the forthcoming business on Instagram at @Royals_MKE.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
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