The Indian-origin owner of a beloved Dubai restaurant has suffered a heart attack after her eatery was forced to shut down. According to a report in Gulf News, Grubshack founder Gemma Mascarenhas had a heart attack after the closure of her Goan restaurant in Dubai.
“My mum suffered a heart attack and was rushed into emergency surgery.
"By God’s grace, she’s stable now, but it was a frightening reminder of how much she’s been carrying on her shoulders — especially over the last month," Gemma’s daughter, Marushka Coelho, told Gulf News.
The founding of Grubshack
Gemma Mascarenhas launched Grubshack in 2012, promising a culinary journey “from Bombay to Goa.” In the beginning, Grubshack was just a tiny 12-seater in Sharjah serving Goan cuisine. Even in the early days, however, Marushka remembers the restaurant as always being full of diners.
“We’d have people driving down from Abu Dhabi just for a takeaway,” she recalled. “We couldn’t even seat them all — they’d wait outside, sometimes for over an hour. But they came back because it tasted like home.”
Grubshack opened in Dubai’s Health Care City neighbourhood in 2016. This time, the founder wanted to replicate not just the flavours but also the feel of home.
{{/usCountry}}Grubshack opened in Dubai’s Health Care City neighbourhood in 2016. This time, the founder wanted to replicate not just the flavours but also the feel of home.
{{/usCountry}}“We didn’t want it to feel like a commercial restaurant,” Gemma’s daughter explained. “We designed it ourselves. There were guitars and music instruments on the walls, old window frames, mismatched furniture — just like our home in Bombay. People walked in and felt like they were walking into someone’s living room.”
The closure of Grubshack
“The restaurant wasn’t just a business,” says Marushka. “It was her second home. Her legacy. Her dream. To see it shuttered — after nurturing it day in, day out — shattered something inside her.”
After more than a decade, Grubshack was forced to close its doors on June 30. The restaurant had weathered pandemic-related losses which continued to affect business.
“Just before COVID, we brought in investors who promised to expand the brand,” Marushka told Gulf News. “They took 60% equity, and when COVID hit, everything collapsed. We were closed for almost a year.”
Once restaurants reopened, Grubshack continued to face financial difficulties and had to let go of staff. Eventually, failing to find a profitable way forward, the family was forced to shutter the restaurant.
But Marushka refuses to let this be a full stop in the story. She has vowed to rebuild and relaunch the eatery. “As her daughter, I just can’t watch it all fade away. We want to bring Grubshack back — not for profit, but for purpose. This is our heart project now. We’re open to investment, collaborations, or simply anyone who believes in what Grubshack stood for,” she says.