Restaurateur cooks up counter revolution at supermarket giant

Eight-year-old Amjad, who couldn’t speak English, missed his home in the Punjab. His family, along with thousands of others, had come to Bradford to find work in the mills. Fifty one years later, Mr Bashir is at the head of a restaurant chain that is poised to become a global brand.

The Zouk restaurant in Leeds Road, Bradford, which was founded by Mr Bashir in 2006 with his sons Mudassar and Tayub, can accommodate more than 100 diners.

In November 2008, Mr Bashir invested £1m in a restaurant in Chester Street, Manchester.

Another Zouk restaurant is expected to open in Liverpool in February 2013.

Mr Bashir has also formed an alliance with Leeds-based supermarket chain Asda.

Zouk has counters in Asda’s stores in Cape Hill, near Birmingham, Oadby in Leicestershire, Small Heath in the West Midlands, and Perry Barr in Birmingham.

Zouk counters are also being opened at the Asda branches in Pudsey, on October 13 and Burnden Park, Bolton, on October 20.

Mr Bashir said yesterday: “We wanted a brand that was recognised throughout the country. The Asda deal enables us to do that.”

The supermarket giant’s ethnic buyer, Noor Ali, said: “We sell more than 3,000 ethnic products and Asian is by far the largest and most popular.”

She said it was a natural step to launch a series of restaurant-managed curry counters. The move was also giving local businesses the opportunity to expand, Ms Ali said.

She added: “Our customers love the authenticity and quality of the range at Zouk.

More and more families are on a budget, but don’t want to sacrifice going out.”