Pakistani student-turned-entrepreneur, Tayyab Shafiq, has turned used phone booths in London to takeaway restaurants, reported Geo News on Wednesday.
Shafiq,25 hails from Lahore and had traveled to London four years ago to study. He is a mechanical engineer by profession.
Shafiq has rented three red three telephone booths from the Red Kiosk Company that used reuses old phone booths.
“As a young Pakistan Entrepreneur initiating my businesses in the UK, it saddened me that people relate to desi food with Indian cuisine, I want people here to relate to the Pakistani cuisine as much as they do with Indian food,” said Tayyab in an interview with the Pakistani media outlet.
A Pakistani entrepreneur Tayyab Shafiq opened the World’s Smallest Takeaway in West London. These ‘Food Booth’ serves delicious Pakistani food (Biryani) and he plans to open new franchises in Pakistan in near future. pic.twitter.com/qd27S4iamM
— Ihtisham Ul Haq (@iihtishamm) October 7, 2020
Shafiq said he is passionate to promote Pakistan’s image as a ‘golden sparrow’ in the UK. His unique venture has been widely covered in the UK’s media.
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He says he is aiming to market the desi Pakistani cuisine in the UK. “As there are so many Pakistanis in the UK, so I had the vision to do businesses that represent Pakistani culture in the UK and to play my role in strengthening the bond between Pakistan and the UK, especially after Brexit when the UK is looking for new business partners. It is a prime opportunity to re-establish the holdings in the UK,” said Tayyab. He young entrepreneur calls it the ‘world’s smallest takeaway’.
Shafiq has ‘daal chawal’, chicken and lamb ‘biryani’, ‘samosas’, drinks, and other snacks.
Entrepreneurial @uclmecheng alumnus Tayyab Shafiq has started the world's smallest takeaway: a curry house in an iconic red London phone booth!https://t.co/tXM3PUNWe0
— UCL MechEng (@uclmecheng) October 8, 2020
In his interview, he informed that he twice gets the food delivered to his booth in the day and use electric food warmers to keep the food fresh. He informed that his booths are secured by a password-protected punching pad and is aiming to install a security alarm as well. Moreover, he also wished to upgrade his takeaway restaurant as per the local council’s regulations on food.
Shortly he plans to give his three booths a more traditional look by adding desi art.
GVS News Desk