Serving the best in BarBQ, not just tonight but for the last 25 years

BarBQ Tonight to hold their birthday celebrations today.

KARACHI:

When Benazir Bhutto won the 1988 elections and moved from 70 Clifton to Bilawal House, it worked out wonderfully for the Sardar family and their restaurant, BarBQ Tonight.

People who used to flock to Bilawal House to catch a glimpse of the newly-wed prime minister would have a meal at the restaurant and then they just had to keep coming back for more bihari boti and naan.

Sardar Qayyum, one of the six Sardar brothers who started the business, laughs as he recalls how barren the area used to be. “When we told our friends that we were going to open up a restaurant in Boat Basin, they thought we were crazy,” he said. “There was nothing here at the time. It was just a couple of apartments and you could see the oil tankers on their way to Shirin Jinnah Colony.”

The 55-year-old’s hearty laughter could be heard across the second floor of BarBQ Tonight. He was happy and it showed. After all, his baby [the restaurant] turned 25 this year.

He remembers the first day they opened as if it was yesterday. “All I wanted to do that day was run away,” he said. “There were too many orders and the chefs couldn’t cook fast enough. There was a guy who wanted a breast piece tikka and we only had leg pieces left. It was a riot.”

Humble beginnings

The eldest Sardar brother, Rahim, graduated from the Institute of Business Administration in 1979 and left for Kuwait in 1981. When he returned in 1986, the family bought a commercial property off Boat Basin. “It was my elder brother’s idea, he took the initiative,” said Qayyum. “The restaurant was in business by the first week of November in 1988. Honestly, I was quite nervous about it. The area was too deserted. We used to wonder who would come to eat in this jungle.”

Initially the crowd was thin but it grew. At that time the restaurant was very simple. “We had a lot of tube lights back then and could only seat about 50 people inside,” he said. “We had a deal with the city government for 10 years. We paid about Rs150,000 for using the footpaths and parking, when it was revoked in around 2000, we decided to use the property and rebuild the structure.” Qayyum added that the rooftop seating arrangement was not on the plan as the family was quite against it but now, it is one of their most popular spots.

Deciding upon what kind of cuisine they wanted to serve was not difficult. “Everyone in our family loves food, especially Lebanese and Afghan,” said Qayyum. “We wanted to do something that was local and delicious. We knew a barbeque restaurant would work well but we had no idea it would be so successful.” He added that their game plan was to open a restaurant on a fast food format - quick, clean and reasonably priced with minimum wastage.

A concept that clicked

The logo and name of the restaurant was the brain child of Javed Wahidna, the owner of an advertising company and good friend of the family.

For Qayyum, nothing would have been possible without the family and their support. He remembers the days when the brothers would pull 16-hour shifts - taking orders, getting supplies, picking or dropping the staff and making sure everything was being done right. He also remembers how his mother used to join them every evening for dinner at 7pm at the restaurant. Qayyum still has dinner at the restaurant and is now joined by members of the family quite frequently. Many of his nieces and nephews are also actively participating in the family business.

“We are very content. This is our baby and it has grown beyond our expectations,” he said. “We try very hard to maintain our standard as we never want to hear our customers to say ‘It is just not the same anymore’.”

Regular customers also became part of the BBQ family, which has expanded across the globe. Today, the Sardar family has 12 outlets and franchises across the world, including Nairobi and Dubai, and are planning to expand to the US and UK.

Masterchef

Since the brothers did not know how to cook what they were going to sell, they decided to eat at every single restaurant in the city to find chefs. “We got someone from Shezan and Kebabish,” said Qayyum. “We just knew what we wanted our food to taste like, we couldn’t really train anyone. When we got our Afghan chef, Khalifa Sher Khan, other restaurant owners said that he’ll leave you since he’s too short-tempered - but he’s still with us.” Another person who has stuck around since the beginning is Ali Zaman, Qayyum’s right hand man. “Ali’s father used to work for us as a chowkidar. He came to us one day and said give my son a job. At that time he was hardly 14 years or so,” he said. “We kept him to wash dishes and he used to stand on two crates just to reach the sink but he was a quick learner and soon moved on to the management side.”

BBQ Tonight’s most popular dishes include Reshmi Kebabs, Malai Tikka, Chicken Ginger, Chicken Bihari and Trifle. The Sardar family’s favourites include mixed vegetables, whole wheat naan, Chicken Bihari, Mutton Ribs and daal.

Turning 25

For the restaurant’s 25th birthday, the family has decided to invite all their customers, friends and family over for a meal on Sunday. “Originally the birthday is in November but we didn’t celebrate because it was Muharram. So on December 15, we just want to show our customers that we care,” said Qayyum. “It’s a way of giving thanks for their years of love.”

Bet you didn’t know

- Sardar Qayyum and his ancestors moved to pre-Partition India in 1887 from Afgshanistan. They have been living in Karachi since

- BBQ Tonight was the first restaurant in the city to introduce valet parking

- The family used to own Star Video outlets in the city

- Qayyum and his brothers used to go to the fisheries and meat market to buy their daily stock in their station wagon. Qayyum says when he used to come home and hug his children, the first thing they’d say was, “Daddy you smell.” They still buy meat from a butcher who sits behind City Court, Nanak Wara area

- The family matriarch, Qayyum’s mother used to have dinner at BBQ Tonight every night at 7:30pm till she passed away

- If any dish is ordered less than 50 times a day, it is removed from the menu

- There have 12 branches and franchises across the world, including Malaysia, Singapore and Nairobi. They are planning to set-up in the US and UK too

BBQ Tonight’s oldest employees

- Muhammad Iqbal has been manning the tandoor since 1989. He loves eating American steaks at the restaurant

- Badshah Khan is BBQ Tonight’s Seekh Kebab extraordinaire. He has been working with the brothers since 1987

- Khalifa Sher Muhammad, 55, looks after the Afghan dishes in the menu. He was one of their first employees and used to work at Kebabish on Boat Basin when the brothers were doing their preliminary research. His favourite dishes are Afghani Tikka, Mixed Grill and Reshmi Kebabs

- Ali Zaman joined BBQ Tonight when he was just 14. His father used to work at the restaurant and asked the brothers to hire his son as a dish washer. Zaman worked his way up quickly and is now Qayyum’s right hand man

- Mohammad Altaf has been working at BBQ Tonight since 1989 and is now a supervisor

- Tahir Ali joined BBQ Tonight in 1990 as a waiter and is now in management

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2013.