BURGER King will now no longer be exclusive to Nadi as the fast food franchise continues to expand its presence to Suva.
The investment worth $1.5 million-$2m is expected to have a seating capacity of 80 people with both outside and inside seating options.
According to the general manager for Burger King Fiji, Akash Narsey the new restaurant was not easy to build as the site had never been a restaurant.
“We had to put a lot of work into it we had to install hydraulics, mechanical works as well so all that proved to be a challenge. But we are relatively happy with the outcome so far and we think it’s worked out really well,” said Mr Narsey.
Several factors were considered when selecting a site. These included: location; ability to cater for a drive-through; and good landlords, according to Mr Narsey.
The search for an ideal location of such went on for many months, almost a couple of years before they had to go back to the boardroom and reconsider what they were looking for.
“‘What is it that we really want to do in Suva and our decision was that we needed to find the right location; which will be in the heart of Suva and has great potential.
“Trying to find drive-through in Suva was always going to be a very tough ask unless we looked outside the actual CBD area which is where we sort of stumbled on this location here.”
Mr Narsey is hoping to get the restaurant up and running by either the end of this month or early November, and is expecting a great turnout for which they are already preparing.
About 55 crew and five managers will be recruited and trained to ensure the expected turnout on the opening leave people satisfied.
The new recruits will be working with some of the staff from Nadi who will be in Suva to assist in the opening of the new outlet.
Burger King Fiji is recruiting young, energetic and open minded people who are able to associate with the younger crowd and to ensure that the team will be energetic and always willing to go the extra mile.
The new restaurant will feature exterior seating which will be bordered by glass glazing from the rest of the bustle while giving the people a feel of sitting outside.
In the interest of ensuring safety of their customers the outside seating will not be directly accessible from the curb, but from the inside.
“Because we are in such a busy area we want to ensure that our customers who sit outside are still connected to the greater Suva area,” he said.
Other projects include a restaurant in Nakasi which will be a standalone restaurant featuring a drive-through and a kids’ play area which meets the global Burger King standards. Mr Narsey is aiming to have this outlet open for business by March next year.
Along with Nakasi, there are plans to have a restaurant in Laucala Bay which the fast-food chain is working towards, and possible in Lautoka.
