Regular customer at CHiPs saves it from shutdown

The 27-year-old eatery on Boat Basin is famous for its roast beef burgers

KARACHI: The 27-year-old Boat Basin eatery, CHiPs, has been saved from impending shutdown after a regular customer bought it from the previous owners.

The new owner, Shayaan Tahir, 29, read on Twitter on Saturday that CHiPs has decided to close shop. He rushed to the restaurant to grab lunch before its kitchen could stop making its famous roast beef burgers.

Tahir was munching on his burger when a waiter, whom he has known for several years, told him how worried the employees were about the shutdown. It occurred to him then that he could actually save the place, buy it and re-launch the brand. All this, while keeping alive the legacy of the roast beef burgers.

"Within five minutes I was able to convince the owner to sell it," said Tahir, who also owns an online retail store called 'homeshopping.pk'.

"Brands should not be closed down." According to the deal, Tahir has bought the name and the CHiPs trademark, along with the entire staff including the chefs and waiters. "The roast beef burgers are famous because of their taste. The chef has remained the same in the restaurant all these years."

CHiPs at Boat Basin served its last burger on Monday and, on Tuesday, it was winding up its equipment. The news CHiPs will now be launched after Ramazan, following the outlet's tradition of remaining shut throughout the holy month.

"It will either be located in Badar commercial's food street or in Sehar Commercial," said Tahir, talking about the re-launch. He plans to give the eatery a modern look, playing around with the restaurants' traditional colour themes of blue and white. But he has no plans to introduce any major changes in the menu or the prices.

"We don't want the old customers to feel that it has totally changed," he explained. "We will upgrade the fries, improve delivery service and perhaps increase the size of the pizzas."

A student of St Michael's Convent School also located on Boat Basin, Tahir recalled his memories at the eatery when he was a student. He would bunk school or meet with friends after school. When Ramazan arrived, Tahir and his best friend would freeze the roast beef burgers to last them through the month.

At a time when the city is seeing a large number of burger joints opening up, Tahir is confident that his years-old brand will continue to attract customers. In the future, he plans on opening up branches inside shopping malls and take it to other cities.

For now, Tahir is happy that he can correct people when they tell him that CHiPs is closing down. "It's not closing down. I have bought it."

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2015.