Food joints take over Kano metropolis

The belief by many people is that food business is the most lucrative business now. It is seen as a credit free business. Many people who tried other business were either forced to close shops because of credit or because of low sales but in the case of food business, it is almost always brisk. […]

The belief by many people is that food business is the most lucrative business now. It is seen as a credit free business. Many people who tried other business were either forced to close shops because of credit or because of low sales but in the case of food business, it is almost always brisk.

Investigations by Pyramid Trust revealed that the coming out of many men and women to work and the influx of visitors to the city are some of the factors that contributed to the establishment of very many eating joints.

In addition to that, the dying culture of preparing quality food by housewives is one factor that is responsible for the increasing number of people who go out to eat. Because women are also working outside the home, they hardly get the time needed to prepare quality food. It is always junk food that are hurriedly prepared after coming back home late in the evening. This upsurge in the number of people eating outside has helped greatly to sustain the food business thereby attracting more businessmen and women into it. The quality of food prepared in an eatery determines the turnout of customers who go there to eat.

Further investigations revealed that little loss is incurred in the food business because of its lucrative nature. The demand is so high that the eateries cannot even meet it. That is why sometimes, despite the large number of the eateries, food is scarce, most especially in very busy areas like  the markets, motor parks and other business areas.

A restauranteur, Al-Mubarak M. Adam, identified some factors he considered responsible for the establishment of many restaurants in the metropolis. He said there is high demand for food by many people who are working outside their homes. These people include both men and women. He said unlike in the past when women were all at home preparing good food for the family, now like their male counterparts, they are also outside working. This trend has created a problem of food scarcity in most homes. Lack of this good food at home has made the menfolk to look out.

“There are many people who are forced by necessity to go out and eat in eateries. The coming out of women has deprived most homes of good food so the only option left for the men is to go to restaurants and eat and because there is high demand, many restaurants and joints are coming up to meet the demand.”

He added that in some cases, the women might be at home but cannot cook good food because they have not learnt it. “Some of the men come to the restaurant to eat because their wives cannot cook better food. Many women now cannot cook well because they have refused to learn it while in their parents’ homes.”

According to him, the influx of visitors to the city mostly for commercial activities has increased the demand for food. “Kano as a commercial hub is receiving so many visitors who might want to eat. This is contributing to the demand in cooked foods,” he said.

Adam whose restaurant is located at Sabuwar Kofa in Kano Municipal Council, further explained that some people have opened up eateries in their working places because of the problem of food scarcity in those pleaces, “There are some people who are forced by the scarcity of food in their work place to open up eateries to bring soccour to the workers.”

Speaking on the lucrative nature of the business, another restauranteur who operates in one of the higher institutions in the state, Hajiya Maryam M., said in a day she can make over N30,000 and at home where people come for snacks, she sometimes makes over N200,000 in a day depending on the season.

She disclosed that cooking food for sale is one business that is very lucrative. She said apart from opening up a restaurant, good food and snacks attract customers at home. According to her, the sales she makes at home through the sale of snacks is incomparable to what she is making in the restaurant. She sometimes  gets special orders for occasions which will fetch her a lot of money. During festivities many people do come for the snacks.

Apart from that, there are times when banks would order a whole week buffet. In such an order, the food sellers are making good money. In fact, it is one occasion that is looked forward to by these food sellers. Such orders from banks are offered to individuals who have become experts in the food business.

Maryam noted that apart from the gains, establishment of eateries help provide jobs to others. Though her business is not very big, she has under her employment about 16 people. In bigger restaurants, the employment rate is higher.

One distinct feature of the food business is that both men and women, young and old engage in it. One can find old women in a stall attached to their homes cooking and selling food just as one comes across young boys and girls with their loaded trays of food hawking around nooks and crannies of the metropolis.

Rich people are also establishing restaurants and snack joints to add to their income. Such big people establish unique eateries with refreshment facilities to attract customers. The minimum amount for a plate of food in most restaurants is N300 but one can get as much as a N1000 food depending on what he chooses to eat.

In bigger restaurants, the charges are higher because a normal plate of rice and a piece of chicken could go for N700 or more. When one talks of special plates in these kind of restaurants, one should think of N1000 or more.

One customer, Usman Ibrahim spoke on why he is eating in the restaurant instead of at home. He said the woman he married cannot cook good food for him. He goes to the restaurant to eat what he desires. “I always eat my meal out because my wife cannot cook good food. I eat better food here,” he added.

He advised parents to ensure that their female children learn how to cook well so that they cannot go and be wasting their husband’s food items through poor cooking.