From dawn to dark in the falafel business

Some might call it a bad habit, though Fadi Malas tries to eat falafel at least three times a week. After all, Mr Malas is the chief executive of Just Falafel, which has opened 10 restaurants in the Emirates since it launched in 2007. With 18 additional locations planned for the UAE, plus franchisees in 10 other countries, Mr Malas talks about juggling his workdays.
5am
I usually wake up. This is the only time of the day when you have no disturbances, phone calls or kids. I review all the reports from the day before: sale reports from the stores, franchise requests, social media reports, the progress report of all the stores under construction, reports of the locations we've been able to secure [and] cash flows, of course - the bloodline of any company.
7:30am to 8am
I leave the house. The first thing I do before I hit the office is visit two to three sites under construction to make sure there are people working, so we have a good indication of when these stores will be opening so we coordinate our management accordingly. We have a schedule of openings, and I want to make sure everything is on schedule.
By 11am
I'm starving. I do try to eat in the food courts three times a week to see how people are doing things. We're trying to capture the behaviour of management and clients. It's a very steep learning curve.
Early afternoon
I try to see literally every head of our department for no less than 20 minutes a day. We will review the reports we receive in the morning, and I sit with our chief legal council at least once a week, because we're restructuring so many things with growth across 10 countries. We have to adapt not only our menus to these markets but different operating environments.
Late afternoon
We are recruiting quite heavily. I would like to meet every single person that comes in and joins our team, and make sure they understand the flat structure: anyone can talk to anyone. It's very important to meet everyone and put a face to the name, [from] workers behind the counters all the way up to the chief operating officer or chief business developer.
Dinner
I split my dinners between family and business, because sometimes people are flying in specially to see us. We appreciate that and also have to spend quality time with them outside the office.
Late evening
To be honest with you, the only luxury time I have is Friday. There is an element of momentum that you build around a growing company that you don't have the luxury of 9am to 5pm. On New Year's Eve I got a call at 11pm from someone abroad; it's a franchisee, and they are our partners.