Mohammed Eijaz moved to England from Bangladesh when he was only three years old. Now, 30 years later, he is the proud owner of a 46-seater Indian restaurant in Stratford upon Avon.
He says the restaurant, called Flavours, is luxurious with a warm ambience, friendly atmosphere and an excellent selection of wines.
But what of a restaurant’s raison d’etre – the food itself?
“The restaurant is all about the styles of cooking,” says Mohammed.
Take your time and do your homework
Mohammed Eijaz, owner of Flavours restaurant
“We wanted to make it that little bit different. We specialise in authentic Indian cuisine and we called it Flavours because there was no other name that was really suitable.”
Mohammed had the culinary pedigree to run his own restaurant, having spent much of his time since the age of 15 working in the restaurant trade. These experiences also gave him the motivation, as he explains.
Unappreciated
“I worked a lot for and with my family. I have had a few partnerships with close relatives but I feel I wasn’t getting what I wanted from them. I felt a little cheated that I never got any appreciation and all the credit was awarded to other people.”
In September 2005 Mohammed decided it was time to stand on his own two feet. He began his search for a business.
Mohammed has been a man on a mission. From day one he knew exactly the kind of business he wanted to run – it was just a case of finding the right location without exceeding his tight budget.
“It had to be the right business.
“I knew what I wanted to do: create a restaurant serving Thai, Indian and Chinese cuisine. My options were limited, though, because I had such a small investment available.”
“This business came to me by chance – and I grabbed the opportunity with both hands.”
Given his restrictive budget, it was always going to be difficult for Mohammed to find a business that was both thriving and in a good location. But fortunately, while you can’t move a building you can renovate it, overhaul the décor, hire new staff and change the menus.
“Once I had been to view it I knew it was perfect. It was in a well-established town.
“The previous business trading on these premises had been going downhill. The restaurant was trash and the inside hadn’t been touched for about 25 years. But I saw the potential.”
The previous owner wanted a quick sale – he had just had enough and wanted out of the industry. This was perfect for Mohammed, who needed to get the price as low as possible.
“I knew from my research that the average value of somewhere like this was about £100k,” says Mohammed, who ended up paying only £60k.
