How accountant found success after quitting job to start restaurant

Mitan Sachdev, born in London to parents from Kenya and Uganda, quit his job with PricewaterhouseCoopers and spent 2-and-a-half years looking for a site to open a falafel restaurant that was his dream.

Then nobody came.

Mr Sachdev sat behind the counter of Falafel City, in the 02 Centre, north London, surrounded by piles of food he had brought for his first day in business.

Neighbouring establishments were boarded up as the centre brought in new tenants. The colourful revolving sign he had ordered hadn’t arrived. Hungry shoppers who travelled up the escalator to Level 2 instead went to Yo! Sushi next door.

“We opened on the Saturday after Christmas (2013),” says Sachdev, who previously worked for PwC’s insurance and investment management business. “I was expecting a flurry of people. I’d stocked up on pittas and salads. No one came. I thought, ‘They’re meant to be coming to me. What’s going on?’

“It got to about 5 o’clock and I said, ‘Fine. We’ll do what we can.’ We went downstairs, did some sampling. And finally that brought in some customers.”

EXPANSION PLANS

Ten months later, it’s lunchtime and Falafel City is busy. Customers can order their falafel with a choice of sauces, including Paris (soya mayo, mixed herbs and mustard seeds), Delhi (coriander, cumin seeds and green chilis) and Lisbon (red chili, lemon, olive oil, and onion).

The food is delicious, with strong flavours. It is vegetarian, though Falafel City doesn’t advertise the fact.

Sachdev, 33, says he is in discussions to open a second branch and potential investors regularly approach about funding a roll-out, with one wanting to take the concept to India.

Things weren’t always easy. Sachdev had trouble attracting backers after quitting his job conducting control assessments on clients’ operations and information technology.

Also, property companies wanted to see a working branch of Falafel City before allowing him access to prestige shopping malls.

Finally, he obtained a 70,000 pounds (Sh10 million) loan from HSBC Bank Plc and managed to get the business off the ground with the help of family and friends, and his life savings with his wife Kajal, on whose recipes Falafel City is based. Kajal works as a technician at a London hospital as well as helping with the restaurant.

“We did speak to investors and for whatever reason they declined, but HSBC saw that we had potential and they gave us the opportunity,” he says.

“It’s strange because at that time, the banks were the organisations that weren’t lending and you’d think that private investors would. Of course, 70,000 pounds doesn’t cover all of it and we’ve put every single penny we’ve earned into this.”

Location, Location

Land Securities Group Plc, the UK’s largest real estate investment trust, agreed to let him have a site in the 02 Centre, a retail and leisure mall.

Falafel City formally opened on January 10 and attracted queues. Neighbouring restaurants are also now in business, bringing customers to Level 2 of the shopping mall. Sachdev says business is up at least 50 per cent since January and is now profitable on an operating basis. He declines to give figures.

He is a member of the Chinmaya Mission, a spiritual organisation based on Hindu philosophy.

He says he found the courage to quit accountancy after he and Kajal travelled to India for a spiritual camp.

Does he miss the security of accountancy?

“The thing that I enjoyed the most was working with people, talking to people and working in teams, and working on different projects at the same time,” he says.

“I’ve no regrets. The Chinmaya Mission talks a lot about the mind and how we need to detach ourselves from our emotions. It has allowed me to conquer my fear and really try to fulfil my dream of opening a restaurant.” — Bloomberg