The nearly three decade old Boat Basin iconic eatery, CHiPs, has been saved from going under permanently, after a regular customer bought it from the previous owners.
A whole generation of fast food lovers grew up munching its amazing burgers and even more amazing sandwiches. Students from nearby schools (including this scribe) used to bunk their classes to grab a bite of their luscious burgers. Back in the early 90s European tourists were also occasionally spotted sitting on its (then) cane furniture.
While ever now and then a customer had been known to complain of food poisoning, yet its loyal clientele remained steadfast
The new owner, Shayaan Tahir, 29, read on Twitter on Saturday that CHiPs has decided to close shop. He rushed to the restaurant to grab lunch before its kitchen could stop making its famous roast beef burgers.
Tahir was munching on his burger when a waiter, whom he has known for several years, told him how worried the employees were about the shutdown. It occurred to him then that he could actually save the place, buy it and re-launch the brand. All this, while keeping alive the legacy of the roast beef burgers.
“Within five minutes I was able to convince the owner to sell it,” said Tahir, who also owns an online retail store called ‘homeshopping.pk’.
“Brands should not be closed down.” According to the deal, Tahir has bought the name and the CHiPs trademark, along with the entire staff including the chefs and waiters. “The roast beef burgers are famous because of their taste. The chef has remained the same in the restaurant all these years.”
CHiPs at Boat Basin served its last burger on Monday and, on Tuesday, it was winding up its equipment. The news CHiPs will now be launched after Ramazan, following the outlet’s tradition of remaining shut throughout the holy month.
“It will either be located in Badar commercial’s food street or in Sehar Commercial,” said Tahir, talking about the re-launch. He plans to give the eatery a modern look, playing around with the restaurants’ traditional colour themes of blue and white. But he has no plans to introduce any major changes in the menu or the prices.
“We don’t want the old customers to feel that it has totally changed,” he explained. “We will upgrade the fries, improve delivery service and perhaps increase the size of the pizzas.”
A student of St Michael’s Convent School also located on Boat Basin, Tahir recalled his memories at the eatery when he was a student. He would bunk school or meet with friends after school. When Ramazan arrived, Tahir and his best friend would freeze the roast beef burgers to last them through the month.
At a time when the city is seeing a large number of burger joints opening up, Tahir is confident that his ydecade-old brand will continue to attract customers. In the future, he plans on opening up branches inside shopping malls and take it to other cities.
For now, Tahir is happy that he can correct people when they tell him that CHiPs is closing down. “It’s not closing down. I have bought it.
