Having grown up in a business family, what I have come to realize is that no amount of previous expertise can prepare you to be an entrepreneur and start something of your own. To shed some light on my childhood and background, my father has been in the hospitality industry for the past 25 years in Saudi Arabia, specifically the resort-hotel business. I was born and raised in KSA for almost 15 years, where I first familiarized myself with the trade. Around 2005, when my family and I settled back in Bangladesh, I developed the fascination to build something of my own at the age of 15.
However, it wasn't until 2011 that my family and I dipped our toes into the hospitality scene in Bangladesh with our first venture, Hotel Niribili in Cox's Bazar. After three years of operations, we decided that it was time to move on to an endeavour more substantial, and that's when I wanted to start something of my own. While completing my bachelor's degree in Human Resources and Management from Cardiff Metropolitan University, my journey as an entrepreneur in the food industry began.
Initially, my plan was to expand an existing local chain, but there were a few challenges to that endeavour. Around 2013, two of the biggest blessings sauntered their way into my life: My business partners. That is when we entered the restaurant scene, with limited knowledge and even more limited finances, and launched our first venture in 2014: Tarka. At the time, in the Bangladeshi food scene, Indian cuisine was limited to a handful of acclaimed restaurants, so there was a scope for us to expand on it and give our little twist to the cuisine. Our idea behind Tarka was establishing a family-friendly fine dining, which had the essence of the food scene in India within our ambiance and our food.
Penetrating the market was quite the challenge, and the venture hit more roadblocks than we had ever anticipated. My partner and I had to learn our way into the market, and it was no walk in the park. We had to look into the most nitty gritty aspects of the business. A major throwback would be the days in our first year; the restaurant would be packed with customers, so my partner and I would step in as waiters to take orders, mop the floors or clear the tables, and run back and forth from the kitchen, in order to maintain the rush, ensure that the food was of the best quality and was on time. It was laborious and tedious, and took every bit of blood, sweat and tears, but looking back, I don't think I would have it any other way.
As time progressed and we understood the swing of things a little better, my partners and I decided to dive more into the market to explore the potentials. Along the way came Busy Beans, a café which was in the bustling side of Mohakhali, followed a couple of years later by 138 East and Pier 138, a gastropub and a fine dining seafood restaurant respectively, at the heart of Gulshan. This time around, our concept with the latter ventures was to not only serve the most scrumptious food, in which aspect we had our chefs trained by a professional chef from Le Cordon Bleu, but also to create an ambience, which would transport you into a completely different world. I personally think we were lucky enough to establish some kind of presence, because people from different age groups would come in, even if it meant taking a picture for the gram.
Having never really anticipated being a part of the food scene in my early years, I strongly believe that my mother's blessings and the association of the best business partners one could ask for has made things easier and fun over the years. Currently, at the perplexing age of 29, I am grateful to be one of the directors of Tarka, Tarka Express, 138 East, Tehari Avenue, Arax, Wire Digital Multimedia Marketing, Vivid Studio, Lumiere Studios, and Road to Wire.
If I were to consider someone I look up to and consider a godsent, it would be my business partner, Ashfaq Rahman Asif. Over the years, he has not only learnt the ropes of the business alongside me, but has taught me and guided me throughout the years. Be it taking on big risks or slipping out of sticky situations, the man has taught me more as an elder brother than a business associate. It is because of this that he plays a key role in giving me sound advice in terms of each venture I pursue, alongside my mother, Masuda Marzana.
As mentioned previously, no amount of knowledge and experience over the years allows you to anticipate the situation within the market. You would think that you have seen it all, but then a situation would present itself and it's almost as if you're back to square one. Take this year for example; the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a huge toll on the restaurant scene, and has withered the businesses along the way.
We had to take on this situation as it came, and to tackle a matter which has shaken every business globally, we have undertaken some important steps. To begin with, we have provided HACCP Certified training to our staff, in order to ensure high safety measures for the food. Outside of proper training, our staff at the front end are taking extra precautions in terms of wearing masks and gloves, and ensuring other sanitization procedures. Given that the virus is air-borne, we also ensure proper ventilation and constant cleaning of surfaces within the restaurants. At the same time, we wanted the workforce behind our success, our staff, to receive optimum safety. They not only received certified training sessions for Covid-19, but also have been given health insurances. Outside of these services, we have tried our utmost to provide quarantined living facilities for the staff to minimise cross-contamination.
Unfortunately, for unprecedented situations such as the pandemic, it is an ongoing learning process, and we adapt as we go forward. Restaurants all over the country are facing this situation, and some of the best restaurants have come together, creating a restaurant association, where we discuss how to take on the local food scene, and how to tackle challenges such as covering the full rent of our premises and keeping the employees on the pay-roll. Despite the circumstances, we are looking for the light at the end of a long tunnel, and hopefully, sooner rather than later, we will overcome this global setback.
Going forward, the cherry on the top would be taking all these businesses to another level. I envision all of the ventures going international and creating a house-hold name for themselves, the likes of Starbucks or McDonalds. Currently, we are working towards turning the restaurants into international chains. Once I am able to see through to this goal, the dream retirement for me would be an early and peaceful one.
