She started by collecting garbage and later opened her own restaurant, saying the UAE gave her a chance to rebuild her life.
Dubai: There was a time when hunger dictated Jenifer Segalowitz’s life.
One afternoon after returning home from school in the Philippines, she found there was nothing to eat. Hungry and exhausted, she accepted a piece of fried chicken that had been thrown into the trash after her cousin’s daughter refused to eat it.
“I ate it because I had no other choice,” Segalowitz told Gulf News.
Decades later, that memory remains with her.
Today, Segalowitz is the founder and CEO of Mukbang Shows Korean BBQ & Seafood Restaurant in the UAE, which has grown to five branches across Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
But when she walks into one of her restaurants, she says she does not see success first.
“I see the little girl collecting garbage. I see the child selling ice for one peso. I see the teenager working as a housemaid. I see the hungry student who once ate discarded food because there was nothing else to eat.”
Those memories, she says, keep her grounded.
“They remind me that success is never about what we achieve for ourselves, but about what we can do for others.”
A childhood shaped by poverty
Segalowitz grew up in a poor community in Las Piñas City, Philippines, where earning enough money for food was part of everyday life.
At six, she began collecting recyclable materials to help her family buy food. Between the ages of seven and 10, she sold homemade ice under the hot Philippine sun, earning one peso for each piece.
She also sold vegetables in her neighbourhood and carried candies and biscuits in her school bag to sell to classmates so she could pay for her daily allowance.
School holidays were not simply holidays. She worked as a housemaid, cleaning homes, washing clothes and cooking to help support her education.
“I believed education was my way out of poverty,” she said.
Her journey became even harder after her father died. Financial difficulties forced her to stop studying.
“It was heartbreaking, but it taught me that sometimes life closes one door so that God can open another.”
A prayer before leaving for the UAE
In 2003, Segalowitz left the Philippines for Abu Dhabi in search of a better future.
Before boarding the plane, she said a simple prayer.
“Lord, don’t let this opportunity be wasted. Use this opportunity as the ladder to the success you have prepared for me.”
The UAE did not immediately offer an easy life.
She worked more than 11 hours a day for a monthly salary of Dh1,000. But compared with the uncertainty she had known growing up, the country offered something she had been searching for.
“The UAE did not simply give me a job. It gave me hope. It gave me dignity. It allowed me to dream again.”
She began saving what she could and gradually learned about investing and business.
Over time, the UAE became more than a place where she worked. It became the place where she developed as an entrepreneur and built a new life.
“It has been the place where I was allowed to grow as a person, as an entrepreneur, and as a leader,” she said.
From job loss to a restaurant dream
Years of hard work appeared to be paying off until the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted businesses and livelihoods.
After losing her job, Segalowitz and her husband, Douglas Segalowitz, found themselves facing another uncertain period.
Then came a simple decision.
“I remember looking at Doug and saying, ‘Let’s build a business.’”
Neither had extensive restaurant experience. They also did not have wealthy investors waiting to fund the idea.
Her husband borrowed money from a bank to help finance their first venture.
“For us, it wasn’t simply a loan. It was a step of faith.”
The early years were difficult.
“There were many nights when Doug and I cried out to God because we didn’t know how we would survive another month.”
Financial pressure, uncertainty and mistakes became part of the process. Slowly, however, the restaurant business began to find its footing.
Today, Mukbang Shows Korean BBQ & Seafood Restaurant has five branches across the UAE, including locations in JBR, Deira and Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai, as well as Electra and Muroor in Abu Dhabi.
Success became about creating opportunities.
For Segalowitz, building a business was never only about making money.
She sees employment as another way of changing lives, particularly because she understands what it means to struggle for necessities.
“Behind every employee is a family that depends on them,” she said.
That is why paying salaries on time is a principle she refuses to compromise on.
“I know what it feels like to wait for money when your family depends on it. I know what it means to worry about buying food, paying rent, or sending money home to your loved ones.”
She has also focused on training employees and helping them develop their careers.
“I always remind our team that where they start does not determine where they can finish.”
Giving back to the community
Her ambitions extend beyond the restaurant business.
A portion of the company’s profits supports Life With Purpose International Foundation, a Christ-centred organisation established by her family to support communities in the Philippines.
The foundation currently supports 50 scholars, runs feeding programmes, helps build churches and supports livelihood projects.
Her motivation is personal.
“I know what hunger feels like. I believe the greatest way to help people is to allow them to provide for themselves with dignity.”
Her goal, she says, is simple.
“My dream is to build more lives.”
The opportunity that changed everything
More than two decades after arriving in the UAE as an overseas worker, Segalowitz sees her journey as a reminder of what can happen when an opportunity is combined with persistence.
“I arrived as an overseas worker searching for an opportunity. Today, I am grateful to be creating jobs, investing in the country’s growth, and serving the community that welcomed me.”
Her advice to other expatriates is equally practical.
“Don’t just earn, learn to save and invest for your future. Your salary should not only support your life today but also build the life you want tomorrow.”
She hopes her story reminds people that their starting point does not have to determine their destination.
“I came to the UAE with nothing but a prayer. Today, I am living proof that one opportunity can change an entire life.”
For Segalowitz, the real measure of that opportunity is not the number of restaurants she owns.
“Not restaurants. Not buildings. Not wealth. But transformed lives that will one day transform others.”
