Mumtaz plans national expansion
RESTAURATEUR Mumtaz Khan has revealed plans to open restaurants in major cities including Edinburgh, London and Manchester following a £3.3m investment in his family business’s second venue.
The Mumtaz in Leeds is to open at Clarence Dock on Sunday.
The restaurant, which will have more than 250 covers and separate conference facilities, will create up to 100 new jobs ranging from waiting staff to chefs.
Mr Khan, who said the Mother’s Day opening of the Leeds restaurant was in recognition of his mother, Farzand Begum, who originally started the business after launching a Kashmiri food outlet in Bradford in 1978, said he was not worried that other restaurants and businesses at Clarence Dock had been forced to close because of a downturn in consumer spending.
“This is a huge investment and as Leeds has become a financial centre we wanted to have a presence in Leeds,” said Mr Khan, who also revealed plans to have a portfolio of five restaurants.
“But we’re going to be keeping prices at the same levels as in Bradford and with the credit crunch on we’re lowering prices where we can.
“It will hit our profit margin but we’ve got to keep our target market and if someone is coming here twice a week we’ve got to think about not hurting their pocket.”
He said Mumtaz Food Industries, which is run by Mr Khan and his brothers Doctor Akbar and Rab Nawaz, had decided to further expand following the ongoing success of its first restaurant in Bradford.
The company has earmaked a site at Salford Quays for its third Kashmiri food outlet and Mr Khan said he expected it to open within the next six months.
Mr Khan said Mumtaz Leeds would include a patisserie and cafe area, a chilled foods area for customers to buy ingredients, and an area branded ‘Jaldi, Jaldi’ – which translates to ‘Quickly, Quickly’ – so people could buy lunches and take-aways by mixing and matching different dishes.
He said the new Leeds restaurant had been mainly funded from cash within the business but some funding had been provided by Yorkshire Bank’s West Yorkshire Financial Solutions Centre (FSC) in Bradford.
Mr Khan also said the restaurant would not serve alcohol – a policy kept at the Mumtaz restaurant in Bradford – and that the food’s reputation would attract diners.
Mumtaz Food Industries also supplies food to supermarkets including Asda and Morrisons and retailers through its factories in Yorkshire, Spain and California.
Mr Nawaz said: “We’ve been very successful in Bradford since our mother started out in 1979 and have built an international reputation both for the restaurant and food supplied to retailers including Harrods and Partridges, Sloan Square, London, and supermarkets in Dubai and the new restaurant will build on this.
“There is no branded Kashmiri restaurant in Leeds. The city needs the choice we offer and we are delighted to be launching here.”
Andy Davidson, Yorkshire Bank’s West Yorkshire FSC managing partner, said: “Mumtaz Ventures is one of Bradford’ most astonishing success stories of the last 30 years, an absolute top-quality business which has set itself apart from the competition and created an international reputation.
“We are delighted to be backing the group in this exciting venture in Leeds which will open up new opportunities for their business.”
