By Lakhram Bhagirat
Pyramid Restaurant and Pub is perhaps one of the more unique restaurants in Guyana because of its location overlooking the majestic Atlantic Ocean at La Jalousie, West Coast Demerara.
For owner, Safraz Khan, the idea is one that was birthed just over 10 years ago when he was in the fast-food business. The 38-year-old entrepreneur said that the idea is one that seeks to offer a relaxed atmosphere for wholesome family time and with its current location, Pyramid achieves just that.
“I have been an entrepreneur pretty much all my life. I have been involved in several businesses. I established the first international fast food in West Demerara and that is Chester’s Chicken and prior to that I have been in electronics and so and now I am back in the food business with a little twist. Pyramid is what you call a fast-casual restaurant which is a restaurant with a touch of drinks and some food,” Khan explained.
The business has been in operation for just a few months and according to Khan, they are steadily improving on the quality of food and facilities as well. He noted that they are capitalising on the uniqueness of the restaurant by establishing both fast food options as well as a hint of fine dining.
Noting that they have not yet realised full operation owing to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, they are still grateful to be able to operate.
“Pyramid is an old idea I had a little while going back while I was in the fried chicken business. I thought if I ever go back or expand in this area, I will do a fast-casual restaurant because the fast-food with chicken and fries and pizza has gotten very saturated because the big players are in so I wanted to get out,” he said.
The father of one said that Pyramid, when fully operational, will be Egyptian themed, explaining that the servers would be attired in their ancient Egyptian garb as well as the space transformed with various artefacts.
Currently, the restaurant has a big deck overlooking the Atlantic. When one is seated there, the atmosphere is tantamount to the “seawall lime” where there is food and soft music. At Pyramid, the food often competes with the view for the top spot and most of the time, the food wins.
While it may be a small menu at this time, Khan related that they are focused on perfecting what they have as well as introducing patrons on the Western end of Demerara to a different experience. He said that they have achieved that with the introduction of the full wine bar.
The food there is heavily Asian-inspired but Khan also capitalises on his fast-food background and includes some of the classics.
“For us, one of the hardest things is that you don’t get trained chef so you have to design a menu based on what people go for a lot and what you can get regular people and train them to do. We have burgers and pizzas, wings and so on. We have main courses – focused on more Asian style – pasta and so on.
There is a lot more to come because we are at the point, we don’t want to over-plan the menu,” he explained.
Pyramid currently creates employment for over a dozen persons and that number is slated to increase as expansion works are completed.
Khan, when asked what advice he would have for someone entering the world of entrepreneurship, said “You have to be very dedicated and focused. You have to be willing to make sacrifices. You have to be so focused on what you doing that sometimes you have to sacrifice friendships because too much distractions will take away from what you are doing. Businesses are more difficult to start in Guyana now so now you have to know the market, do research and remain focus. I always tell young people too to invest in building networks and approach things with an open mind.”
