Barbeques are food porn with machismo. Barbeques with torque even more so. Two brothers from Hyderabad, Arun and Krishna Varma, have deployed 26 newly converted Royal Enfield motorcycles into moving barbecue grills.
The Enfield, known in India as the Bullet, is a cult bike which symbolises going where angels fear to ride. Biting the Bullet is a new food cult the brothers have finessed with elan. And undoubtedly it’s turned out to be a recipe for success.
Arun explains, “We started our BBQ service with a food truck in our second year in college. But we had to face many challenges like parking, manpower and trained chefs. So we wanted to start something that did not have these hassles. A BBQ bike was the perfect solution. It would need less parking space. We standardised the menu so that we are not forced to rely on a trained chef,” says Arun.
From running their own BBQ bike service, which they started in October 2016, the entrepreneurs have moved on to franchisees. This has taken their sizzle from Hyderabad to other places—Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai, Coimbatore, Puducherry, Kochi, Vizag, Tirupati, Punjab, Mumbai, Pune, and Ahmedabad—in just a year, and the list is ever-growing.
BBQ Ride franchises were started hardly four months ago in Delhi-NCR, and have already gathered a loyal clientele. “The feedback has been wonderful. We are the only BBQ bike chain in the world. We have placed an order for 17 more bikes. So by mid-year we shall be touching 50,” says Arun.
Their franchise concept is simple. They give Enfields to people for a one-time fee of `7 lakh and a monthly royalty of `10,000. They run background checks on the franchisees after which, two-week hands-on training is given. The profits remain with the people who make them.
The barbeque boys plan to expand to Karkardooma by the end of January. They have also their sights set overseas. London has almost been finalised as their international debut location and they are talking to prospective franchisees in other countries besides the UK.
While many wonder how they do steaks on a bike. Arun smiles and says, “The secret is the sidecar. We can easily carry food for almost 200 people in one. It also doubles up as a barbecue grill, and a pan for the burgers and stuff.” The team has also applied for a patent for the design.