TAKING A LEAF OUT OF HIS BOOK: INTERVIEW WITH BAY LEAF RESTAURANT OWNER, AFTAB RAHMAN

Aftab Rahman, owner of the Bangladeshi restaurant in the Custard Factory, met up with the Asian world newspaper to discuss the importance of setting, passion and interpersonal relationships in the food business.

The Custard Factory is the Camden of Birmingham. It’s pink and mint offices are home to an array of independent businesses and the vintage shops there are visited by bohemians, intellectuals and rockers. But according to Aftab Rahman, who opened the Bay Leaf last June, a cultural restaurant is what the independent sector of Birmingham needs.

“There isn’t a good Bangladeshi restaurant here,” explains Aftab Rehman, “But more generically, I think there is a gap in providing something different. We’re a Bangladeshi restaurant that’s very big on the arts and poetry.”

The restaurant is certainly arty, which fits in with the cultural ambience of the free-spirited area. The poetries on the walls are by Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali poet, novelist, musician, painter and playwright who reshaped Bengali literature and music. But most importantly, the paintings and photographs inject some Eastern flare into the modern, laid-back interiors.

“It was particularly important for me to get my images on the wall, as it provides a glimpse into Bangladeshi life” explains Aftab, “But it also helps to create the right atmosphere, which is vital for all restaurants, other wise getting it wrong can lead to disaster”

Aftab’s words certainly ring true, for the Bay Leaf restaurant used to be ‘Mathews atBirmingham’, an upmarket eatery that was forced to close early last year, due to poor intake. Regarding this, the restaurateur stresses the importance of setting and knowing what sort of people your chosen area attracts when starting up a food business.

He says, “Although it was a good restaurant, it was not in the right place. The Custard Factory is quite a funky, arty and cultural place and it did not really appeal to the types of people who work, visit and play in the area.”

But setting up a food business is no easy fare, as finance is a big issue in order to pay for tables, kitchen operation equipment, marketing materials, websites and finding the right suppliers for the right types of food. But Aftab also emphasises that hard work after the business is set up.

“The hours you put in are tremendous and there is a lot of admin work involved. But it is all very rewarding in the end,” he stresses.

As challenging as it is to run a business, high costs come with high risks, as Aftab tells us that restaurants have the highest failure rates and that it is crucial to have passion to overcome that.

“I find that most restaurants fail because the businessman is only interested in making money and because of that, they end up setting up a restaurant that’s very generic. That is why I feel it is very important to be passionate about food, design quality and service. You need to be creative and innovative when you find a gap in the market. Be prepared to take risks.”

Yet failure is not always down to aloof money-making, for interpersonal issues and conflict management can also be the icebergs that break a business.

“Partners don’t always get on, and then that spirals into conflicts where they point fingers and say “he did this, or she did that”, Aftab explains, “But there are also issues around how you manage conflict. If you use aggression and abuse to solve these issues, then that might ultimately lead to burned bridges for life.”

Assertiveness and co-operation are certainly vital ingredients to create a successful business, but it also needs development and new ideas to maintain it. Aftab knows this, which is why he has many plans to put into practice in order to see the Bay Leaf become a more established brand.

“We already have wine tasting nights, jazz, charity and poetry nights. But our immediate plans are to introduce a cooking master class on how to cook and prepare Bangladeshi foods. We will also begin a course on Bangladeshi heritage, which I will run, as well as a cocktail making course.”