Bradford restaurant invests across the Pennines
Originally published in The Telegraph and Argus
The owners of a successful Bradford Asian restaurant are planning to invest £2 million on its expansion later this year.
Peter Bashir, who runs the Zouk tea bar and grill with his sons Tayub and Mudassar, plans to knock through to a building which he owns next to the Leeds Road restaurant.
He aims to create a new bar and waiting area and a private function room upstairs.
The news follows the launch of Zouk's new £1 million 200-seat restaurant in Manchester.
The 4,500 sq ft venue, which will mirror the all-day café bar style of the Bradford original, was officially opened by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Manchester. Two days of celebrations were attended by 1,000 invited guests.
Chefs prepared four suckling lambs as a centrepiece to the celebration buffet along with other dishes including a traditional vegetable dish called shabdegh.
A life-sized baby elephant prop and street entertainers greeted guests and an international DJ was flown in from Morocco for the occasion.
The new restaurant, which will be run by Mudassar, is situated in Chester Street, off Oxford Road and is close to the BBC and Granada television studios.
It marks the first phase of expansion for the Zouk format, which Peter Bashir launched in Bradford two years ago. Mr Bashir has been in the restaurant business for 30 years, having opened his first Bradford eatery in 1979. He is also a partner in the award-winning Keebabeesh restaurant at Greengates and has picked up several awards for Zouk.
He also intends to take the Zouk brand to Milan in Italy. Last year Tayub and Mudassar took part in a Government-backed trade mission and identified possible locations for the planned move into Milan's café society.
Meanwhile, Peter intends to focus on expanding the original Bradford business. He said: We are looking to keep the ambience of Zouk by keeping the restaurant to same size.
But, by extending into the building next door we will be able to create more waiting space and a new bar. The £2m development will also include a private function room.
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