Two years ago, five aspiring UAE entrepreneurs came up with a business plan — for a new restaurant. It’s not the most original business idea, but the concept of Buns & Cones is unique, says co-founder Faisal Al Hadi, an Emirati HR professional by day.
Buns come in the form of sliders, which “taste out of this world” he says, but the cones are the USP: Made out of a secret ingredient, the edible savoury cones are used to serve shrimps or fries.
Al Hadi, along with his brother Fahad Al Hadi, cousin Mohammad Al Hadi, and friends Khulood Al Sharaf and Tamim Al Adwan are the people behind this new eatery, which opened in Dubai’s Al Warqa neighbourhood earlier this month. Faisal, Mohammad and Tamim spoke to Gulf News tabloid! about how they set up their new venture and shared their future plans.
Where did it all begin for Buns & Cones?
Faisal Al Hadi: From the inception two years ago, our dream was to create a unique local UAE brand in the F&B sector with an international standard. Fahad and Tamim started the research phase and found that we were missing good quality neighbourhood restaurants. So we came up with this neighbourhood burger shop concept.
Why fast food?
Tamim Al Adwan: We do not consider ourself a regular fast food restaurant and we prefer to call ourselves a neighbourhood restaurant where you will find high-quality and tasty food, and feel at home in the same time. Most of our ingredients are fresh and freshly made, which takes more effort and time to prepare compared to the regular fast-food chain.
Why Buns & Cones? Who came up with the name?
Mohammad Al Hadi: Buns & Cones is a lifestyle... not only a restaurant. We would like people to enjoy food and enjoy eating burgers like the olden days. The name comes from the items in the menu: we offer three types of bun sandwiches and two types of cones, which is a first in the region. The name and the concept was developed by Tamim.
Tell me a little bit about the menu and how you came up with it.
Faisal: The food was developed over a period of one year with extensive work and tasting process. Our objective was to create an innovative [product] with the right ingredients and a unique taste to have the best dining experience through a great restaurant ambience and well-trained staff. Our menu options vary between meat and chicken sliders, hotdogs, shrimp rolls, fries cone and shrimp cones in addition to some new innovative options. Our price range is between Dh7 for fries and Dh29 for a slider.
Was it difficult to get it off the ground? How much did you invest?
Tamim: You will be surprised by how many things you have to master in the F&B business, from construction to food development, marketing and financial knowledge. Some people will say that these are barriers and difficulties, but we considered them as challenges and [they] made us determined to achieve and learn more about the business throughout research and learning.
We’ve put a huge amount of effort, time, knowledge and investment in Buns & Cones, of course we had our ups and downs throughout the journey, however we always believed in the idea and that we can achieve our goal of creating a strong Emirati brand.
Do you deliver?
Tamim: We opened the first week in September and we are still testing the market around us with operations and this is why we still did not deliver until now.
What future plans for Buns & Cones?
Faisal: We have a goal and a plan to expand our brand around all under-serviced neighbourhoods all over the UAE.
For more on Buns & Cones, go to bunsandcones.com or find them on Instagram @bunsandcones
