Member Article

£200k investment allows entrepreneur to open third takeaway diner in Sheffield

Businessman and diner entrepreneur Abdul Ghafoor is opening a third takeaway and diner in Sheffield after a £200,000 investment.

The branch will employ 10 staff, on top of staff in Abdul’s establishments in Pontefract and Wakefield.

Abdul opened his first diner after selling a chain of takeaways he had set up in Rotherham, Doncaster, Askam and Armthorpe.

He said: “It was at this point that I decided I would put my efforts into a takeaway and diner. I didn’t want a restaurant but somewhere in between the traditional takeaway and something offering more of an experience.

“I couldn’t find anyone else catering for the ethnic and Indian market doing it, so launched Abdul’s in Wakefield.”

Celebrity followers, including the late Bernard Manning, even showed their support for the new start up business.

In 2005, after a decade of growth, Abdul invested in a second site opening a further takeaway and diner in Pontefract.

Since that time Abdul has seen consistent growth and despite the economic downturn is maintaining turnover with a stream of regular customers.

“This is where I want to be, offering tasty food to people who appreciate the time and effort that goes into it. We aren’t a traditional take-away, we use our own special recipes to create authentic dishes.

“I am constantly coming up with new ideas and flavour combinations, which will give our customers something new to try.

“It’s sometimes surprising to look back, knowing that I left school and spoke very little English! We arrived here with nothing.

“My mum was a single parent living in a strange and unfamiliar community trying to do her best. Needless to say times were tough.

“Over the years Abdul’s has developed and we are very proud of the position we are in today. We have worked hard to build the business and to offer our customers a real taste of India.

“I would like to thank everyone who has supported me over the past 15 years, without them none of this would be possible.

“We are now embarking on ambitious growth plans. Times may be hard but a good curry seems to give people something to look forward to and I’m pleased that many of those people are choosing Abdul’s.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .