A Rawtenstall social worker and property developer has recently added restaurant owner to his resumé with the opening of a new Indian/fusion restaurant.
As a teenager, Mohammed Khan, 47 of Rawtenstall, grew up working front and back of house jobs in the service industry and in his early twenties owned a restaurant in Clitheroe for about five years.
He left the restaurant to focus on his role as a social worker but fast forward to 2022, Mohammed made a grand return to his passion of running a restaurant.
Mohammed opened the doors to Kashmir in Burnley Road in January and has already built up a regular customer base.
He said: “I pretty much know the customers that come already.
"I’ve lived on the same road all my life so it’s almost like a reunion with people I know of from school; it’s bizarre but a great feeling.”
Mohammed explained how the cost-of-living crisis has impacted the business as the numbers he would be turning over six or seven years ago are "nowhere near as high as they are now".
He said: “It’s not easy at all with the cost of heating and the cost of food itself but I understand it’s difficult for some people out eat out nowadays more than ever so you can’t really reflect that the increase in bills et cetera in the menu prices if you want to make it accessible for locals.”
So far, the restaurant has a full five-star rating so Mohammed is happy the business is going in the right trajectory, and he hopes it will continue to build as much as it can in a small area.
He added: “We’ve tried to create something unique in the outer skirts of Rossendale and build a client base which we can sustain.”
The restaurant’s interior and bright and vibrant teal and mustard colour palette is what Mohammed says makes Kashmir unique from other traditional Indian restaurants where darker and dim lighting is the typical environment.
In addition to the alternative décor that makes the restaurant stand out Mohammed added: “The food we serve is very authentic.
"We’re trying to introduce more street food which you wouldn’t really get from other restaurants in the country.
“We like to think we’ve combined a fusion of recipes. Like a Tikka Masala for example, that’s a British invented recipe which has been adapted but we try to improve these popular dishes and make them fresher.
"We’re trying to be a bit different but focusing on authenticity.”
Something that is very important for Mohammed is having a diverse array of employees as well as customers.
“We’ve got a nice mix of staff. People from Pakistani heritage, my partner is Bangladeshi, and we’ve got a young lad in the kitchen from a white background.
"When you go into a restaurant you only see people of the same heritage, so we’re trying to get away from that and have a better representation.
“Take Gordon Ramsay for example, he can probably make a curry better than most people because it’s about the skillset. He’s learned about the culture and the food so I’m for all that in my restaurant too.”
Mohammed shared that "working in social work has opened his eyes to the reality of life" and the barriers people face in the closed off environment they live in.
His incentive to help people crosses over into his job as a restaurant owner too as strives to create a healthy, trusting, and open working environment for his staff as well as a place for customers to destress and unwind over the weekend or after work.
You can find more information about the restaurant online and on the Facebook page for Kashmir Rawtenstall.
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