Shabir Hussain, founder of Akbar’s restaurant in Bradford, has called on the Government to take action on spiralling costs with energy bills and material costs soaring.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, Mr Hussain said: “Covid hit us big. It was a very difficult time but we have a bigger problem now.

“The biggest thing that is hitting restaurants now is the energy bills and the cost of raw materials going through the roof. It’s had a massive impact. Covid was bad but this has gone from bad to worse.”

Shabir Hussain is the founder of Akbar's restaurant, which is based in Bradford.

The restaurant shuts on the day of the Muslim festival of Eid. However, the day after is usually “the equivalent of Boxing Day” for the business, which has ten restaurants across the country, employing around 350 to 400 people.

While it’s a busy period for the Akbar’s, Mr Hussain says a few days of good post-Eid trade won’t solve the underlying issues faced by restaurants.

He said: “Two or three days of business after Eid, however good they might be, are not going to solve the ongoing problem. Restaurants have not really recovered from Covid.”

Saleem Kader’s parents founded clothing retailer and fabric wholesale business Bombay Stores in 1967.

For the Bradford-based business, which employs 80 staff, Eid has “always been an important time”.

Mr Kader said: “It’s one of the times that people go out and spend. Obviously circumstances have changed in the last couple of years with Covid.”

The pandemic saw a shift in shopping patterns with an increasing percentage of trade coming online.

Bombay Stores has had a busy few days in the run-up to Eid with the festival falling at the beginning of the week.

Mr Kader said: “What happens with Eid and Ramadan is you have two weeks of being very quiet and that’s usually compensated by two weeks being really busy.

“Overall the month is better than a normal month but we do have a quiet period in the beginning.”

The business has seen a bounceback of sorts, it still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Mr Kader said: “This year inflation and everything else is worrying people.

“Despite that people are out and about and they do want to physically buy things. It’s improving slowly.”

Bombay Stores had to start planning for this year’s Eid period much earlier due to supply issues.

Mr Kader said: With the current situation it’s very difficult because shipping that used to take four weeks and was pretty much guaranteed can take up to six to eight weeks.

Sweet trading period

Desserts firm Icestone has stocked up for the busy Eid period with the firm’s restaurants based in areas with a large Muslim demographic.

Andrew Wilson, general manager at the Bradford-based firm, said: “The reason I think Icestone is successful is Muslims don’t go to the pub, they don’t have a drink with their meal so it’s quite normal to go to a restaurant, have your main meal and then go to another restaurant and have your dessert.”

Speaking ahead of preparations for Eid, Mr Wilson said: “We just know we’re going to be very busy on those days.”

Yorkshire's Asian firms are cautious this Eid as energy costs and supply chain issues create headaches