Focus · Capitals Wire
20 minutes ago Mark Elliott & Chris King, BBC Radio Shropshire and Bridie Adams, West Midlands Gastronomy Restaurants Acky Khan (centre) started out cleaning restaurant kitchens as a teenager and now employs about 1,500 people When Acky Khan was studying for his O-Level exams, he took a job cleaning kitchens at a KFC restaurant in east London. "It was hard work. It's not the easiest of jobs, but once you get the hang of it, it was a really enjoyable experience," he said.
More than 40 years later, Khan employs about 1,500 people across 50 KFC restaurants and 30 Starbucks coffee shops, including a newly opened restaurant at Meole Brace retail park in Shrewsbury. The businessman hopes to double the size of his operation within five years, but admits hospitality firms face growing pressures from rising costs. Ahead of the government's autumn Budget, Khan is calling for more support for the sector, which he believes provides opportunities for young people that are often overlooked.
"I see them grow up in our business," he said. "The staff are the ones that run this business, not me." Reuters The entrepreneur operates 50 KFC restaurants and 30 Starbucks coffee shops across the UK Khan traces his interest in hospitality back to his childhood, when a takeaway meal was an occasional family treat. After getting his first taste of the industry as a teenager, he said he became determined to build a business of his own.
"You can't beat hands-on operations to understand any business," he said. "Not just that, you also then understand what your people are going through. I know how tough it is to work in those kitchens.
I know how tough it is to wash all of those trays and all of that stuff up overnight." Khan said that experience still shapes the way he approaches the business today. His 28-year-old twin sons are now learning the trade from the ground up. His first franchise opened in 1996, employing 15 people, but building the business involved significant personal risk.
Khan said he put his house on the line to secure a bank loan to buy the store. The challenges intensified during the financial crash of 2008, when he faced the possibility of losing both his home and business. "I remember a particular bank that I was with at the time, I was in their boardroom and I threw my keys on the table," he said.
"I said, 'you know what, you can take the house and take the business'." 'Movers and shakers' Despite building a business that now employs thousands of people, Khan said hospitality operators continued to face "tough" challenges. He pointed to rising prices and the costs involved in opening new restaurants. Khan said hospitality businesses provided opportunities that were often "not given enough recognition", particularly for younger workers starting their careers.
His message to the chancellor is: "Don't forget about us little boys, the movers and shakers that create jobs in all the rural towns." More on this story Related internet links
Source: BBC
