A small restaurant in the back streets of Birmingham has transformed itself into an £8 million business – but Lasan boss Jabbar Khan says it was his struggles, not successes, which paved the way.
Lasan Group, run from the Jewellery Quarter by Mr Khan with renowned chef Aktar Islam, is investing more than £1 million in its latest venture, Nosh and Quaff, in Colmore Row.
It is the most high-profile expansion yet for the Mr Khan co-founded with £11,000 in his pocket in 2002.
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He believes it was his initial naivety and impetuousness which served Lasan so well. The Indian restaurant has become a popular and profitable haunt but struggled for years on a side street off St Paul’s Square with little passing trade.
Today, Mr Khan accepted it was at best a risky move to take on that location but believes it was those initial struggles building a customer base from nowhere which are the real story of Lasan’s success.
He said: “I was so naive and ignorant I just went for it. Sometimes knowledge can be crippling – knowing a lot can hold you back. I had £11,000 borrowed from the family and tried to get a bank loan.”
He added: “I didn’t know the basic rule of business – location, location, location.
“Lasan was on a street where nobody walked by and as a result I struggled for two-and-a-half years – but that is the only way you can learn about business – by struggling.”
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Nosh and Quaff will mark another step forward for the group, which also owns Raja Monkey, in Hall Green, and Fiesta del Asado, in Edgbaston.
It is expecting to take on between total workforce to more than 100.
Mr Khan admits to a rather dubious start in the restaurant industry – he went to work for his uncle, only to be served notice before he began.
But the actual inspiration to open an Indian restaurant was to get away from the sort of cuisine associated with the subcontinent but not really served there.
He explained: “A lot of what I have learned is what not to do. I have learned from customers who come in and see 150 dishes on a menu who say ‘I have been to India and never seen any of these’. So I thought I will never serve any food I don’t enjoy eating myself. How else can you expect customers to enjoy it?”
Before starting Lasan, Mr Khan joined an agency supplying kitchen and bar staff, on top of his full-time job, to gain insight into the industry.
He eventually clubbed together £11,000 and with the help of family and friends managed to get things moving.
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From there, he sought to learn by entering restaurant competitions. While generally this is done for a pat on the back, Mr Khan said he was seeking self-development – soaking in expert views as well as free publicity.
And it was from there Lasan rose to national consciousness when Gordon Ramsey named it his “Best Local Restaurant” on his television series The F Word.
Despite the success, Mr Khan and Mr Islam opted not to open Lasans in other cities.
“The biggest problem with doing that route is standards,” Mr Khan explained. “You have to have someone who can cook a wonderful meal. If there aren’t the people of that standard then you shouldn’t open a restaurant – it is about more than just making money.
“Given the shortage of Indian chefs, we decided there was no reason we should just do Indian food.
“We decided just to serve things that excite us.”
Rather than turning Lasan into a chain, the pair .
The first was Fiesta Del Asado, Birmingham’s first Argentine Asado restaurant, based in Hagley Road, but Nosh and Quaff, at more than £1 million, marks by far the largest investment to date.
It will be spread across four floors of the building with the restaurant at ground level, a bar-restaurant above and the chefs at the top.
Mr Khan said: “We have put £1 million into this so it has to be something that we love.
“We could have opened the same venue with half the money but that wouldn’t be a flagship.
“It is such a fantastic location.”