Ghani Shinwari -Why a restaurant in Lahore succeeded in an oversaturated market
A few weeks back my family and I went to a restaurant located next to the entrance of Askari 11 and at a 2-minute drive from DHA Phase 5, 6 and 5 minutes from DHA Phase 7 Lahore. If you are from Lahore, you know two things for sure: people here take their food VERY seriously, and that opening a restauraunt/café in Lahore is a dumb way to die (financially speaking). But what I saw in front of me defied the latter part of my statement: Ghani Shinwari standing in all its glory, with a parking que stretching half a mile long and a valet service that was so overwhelmed with the amount of cars it had to take that my dad advised me to park in front of a nearby store anywhere within a kilometer radius of the place. After the long walk through the parking lot, my mom and I made it to the entrance of the restaurant at were immediately transported to a different era. Under a starry sky, well-lit by the cutest lamp posts I had seen in a while, you could see rows and rows of chaaarpais (traditional benches woven with jute), and tables and chairs spread on both sides of an aisle. Directly ahead was a grand live kitchen with at least 50 dutch ovens, traditional Peshawari handis, and more than 30 portable bbq grills that you see on every dhaba across the country. You could see your food being made and could trace where what you wanted was.
The wait time? 2.5 hours!
Yes. In today’s age.
The seating capacity? At max. Despite the time it took to get food to your table (if you were lucky enough to get one).
So what made Ghani Shinwari so impeccably successful in a city where people are very serious about taste and very short on patience?
My dad always says: the key to a successful business in Pakistan right now is “oonchi dukaan, munaasib rate”. I saw this phenomenon come true at the success of Jay Bees - an ice-cream parlor which operates in posh neighborhoods of Lahore, and is priced so affordably, it’s within the grasp of most people. Wait time? at least 20 minutes. I could see this replicate at Ghani perfectly. It was located within the radius of some of the country’s more well-off people, yet was priced relatively reasonably. The portion sizes were GREAT for the price and the taste was consistently good. People have been raving about it for over two years and when we finally tried it, it did not disappoint.
I think the success of Ghani Shinwari tells a deeper economic story of Pakistan. First it tells you that there exist vast inequalities within the population - more than the media an dreports can grasp because many people function in the grey, undocumented economy, running perfectly good, legal businesses which never get recorded in the GDP or tax net because the government and policy makers have made it impossible to thrive financially.
Second it tells you that despite having loads to spend, people are cautious of their wealth and want the best bank for their buck. Sounds obvious, right? Not when you look at the sheer number of businesses that are pricing products no one is willing to pay for (yes I’m looking at you fashion brands & second-hand cars).
Third that the buying power resides within less than 10% of the population. Though I just made this number up, it’s a pretty good guestimate at who is running the entire economy. The rising CPI means it’s definitely not the workers getting paid even PKR 70k a month who also have families to feed. (Highly salaried people are ofcourse, an exception). But I deflect. This is important to know because any business aiming to make money will have to cater the top 10, 7, 5, 2 or 1% of the country. Otherwise the opportunity cost of an average person spending on your product vs. a necessity like food or utility is quite high.
Ghani Shinwari has hosted several influential people including the former Chief Minister of Punjab, the entire Pakistan Cricket Board, the Pakistan Cricket Team and several celebrtities, business tycoons and those who live in quiet luxury. Yet they choose not to go overly exclusive with their pricing, deliver a taste you can’t find elsewhere in the world (trust me, nothing in NYC, China, France or Italy even comes close), an ambiance that let’s everyone escape from life for a bit, and a quality they maintain despite and inspite of the insane number of people they host each day. The restaurant alone can seat 1500 people at a time (upto 2000 if you’re willing to make it a bit congested) and then there is a separate venue for weddings.
In case you’re wondering, the 2.5 hour wait for the Masala Rosh was 1000% worth it. And this is coming from someone who refuses to stand in any lines where I’m the one paying for the product on the other side of the counter.