Hundreds of donations pouring in to support Nivene’s ‘lifelong dream’
18:00, 10 Jul 2026Updated 18:06, 10 Jul 2026
Nivene with her two family members Alaa Barket and Mohamed El Shouky
After a fantastic run with her popular Cairo 2 Cork food truck in the city centre – this Leesider has gotten the amazing chance to expand her business and open her very own restaurant.
But ever since she had to leave the Fifth Quarter outdoor dining space last month, Ballyphehane’s Nivene Sadick says bills have been piling up. Now, she’s afraid she might lose the business – which she said was her “lifelong dream” – that she and her family have poured their hearts and souls into.
Nivene’s Cairo 2 Cork and several other vendors had to leave the city’s food truck plaza on Paul’s Street on 19th June after traders were informed of complaints about the space being taken up by their operations. The Cork woman said she had an incredible time there and that everyone from the Fifth Quarter team was “amazing” – but is sorry it had to come to an end.
Nivene Sadick – with family members Alaa Barket and Mohamed El Shouky – at the Cairo 2 Cork food truck on Paul Street
Now however, Leesiders are rallying to support her as donations pour into a GoFundMe page dedicated to keeping Cairo 2 Cork alive. With enough support, Nivene will be able to open a brick-and-mortar location near the city centre and keep selling the tasty Egyptian Street food her customers couldn’t get enough of.
The GoFundMe page to help save Cairo 2 Cork has only been active for less than three days, but is already close to a €2k donation total thanks to massive support from Leesiders.
And it’s no surprise, as Nivene is very well known in the city. Outside of her work at the Fifth Quarter, she was raised in the Lough and is very involved with her local community. The Cairo 2 Cork owner never wanted to launch a GoFundMe and ask for help. But she says she is eternally grateful for all the support she’s seen so far, and promises to use every donation to “continue giving back to the community for years to come.”
She said: “What started as a dream has grown into something I never imagined. Thousands of people have supported us, shared our videos, queued in the rain for our food, and made us feel like part of the Cork community. Every single customer has helped build this business from the ground up, and I will never be able to thank you enough.
Nivene’s two kids, Zaina and Yaseen(Image: Jane Kelleher / thecontentstudiocork on Instagram)
“Unfortunately, over the past few weeks everything changed. Due to circumstances completely outside of my control, I was forced to stop trading. Overnight, my income disappeared, but the bills didn’t. Rent, supplier invoices, Revenue, insurance, equipment costs and everyday business expenses have continued to pile up while I haven’t been able to open my doors.”
Nivene said she has “poured everything she had” into getting Cairo 2 Cork up and running. On several occasions, she had to miss out on family time for her work and has reinvested “every euro” back into growing the business.
She added: “I’ve been offered the chance to take over a permanent premises that could completely transform Cairo 2 Cork. It would finally give us a proper kitchen, somewhere we can trade consistently, expand our menu, offer deliveries, create more jobs and continue growing the business that so many of you have supported from day one.
“The only thing standing between us and that future is finding the funds to secure it. Every donation, no matter how small, will go directly towards securing the premises, transferring the business licence, purchasing the equipment needed to reopen, and helping us survive this difficult period until we can get back on our feet.
“If you’re unable to donate, simply sharing this fundraiser would honestly mean the world to me.”
She has thanked all of her past customers and everyone who has donated so far for “believing in her, her dream, and Cairo 2 Cork.” You can support Nivene and her business by donating to the GoFundMe here.
