If there is any Nigerian rising up the ladder as a global restaurateur to reckon with, then Shola Medupin easily makes the list. With chains of restaurants spread across the city of London and also Dubai, this Kogi-born investment banker is not resting on his oars as he looks poised to extend his horizon to the United States of America and then make a grand home-coming to Lagos, Nigeria. In this exclusive interview with Interface Africa, he tells it all about the success story of Enish, the initial hiccups, how foreigners are loving the Nigeria and African cuisines, and what lies ahead.*

Shola Medupin, An accomplished restaurateur, Founder/CEO of Enish Group, with ten restaurants in London, two of a $ 1 million and $10 million dollar restaurant in Dubai. The Enish brand has hosted world class Celebrities like Floyd Mayweather, Rick Ross, Anthony Joshua, and their likes. Enish restaurant is changing the narrative by serving local food in a five-star environment. So we interviewed him to get an insight into his life as an entrepreneur and any advice he has for other budding entrepreneurs.

• How did you become an entrepreneur? Can you tell us a bit about yourself ?

My name is Shola Medupin. I am from the Yoruba-speaking part of Kogi State.

We started Enish in London in October 2013. The name Enish is derived from the initials of my wife’s name and mine as well. My wife’s name is Eniola, and I am Shola.

So, we coined Enish from the first three letters of her name and the first two letters of my name. But the rationale for Enish is that we have seen a lot of Nigerian restaurants abroad and they look dirty and my question is always, must it be a dirty place because we go to other restaurants in Central London and other places and they look decent.

Even when I need to take my friends out, I find it difficult to go to a Nigerian restaurant in London because of the lack of decent Nigerian dining outlets.

So, that was how the idea of Enish came up. We wanted to do something different, and we started a restaurant.

The first two years were a bit difficult, but after that teething period, everything picked up.

• So, was starting Enish a natural step for you with your background in investment banking and Securities?

Well, I can’t say it’s a natural thing for me even though I was born into the family of restaurateurs. Both of my grandparents and mother were in the food business. We saw a need to change the face of Nigerian restaurants abroad, and we decided to fill the gap.

Now we have 10 restaurants in London and 2 in Dubai.

The first one was in Lewisham in London. We opened the second in Finchley Road, from there to Cradling, to Ilford, to Bristling, Old Kent Road, Camberwell, Camberwell Green, and we just acquired one in the West End of London. It is the biggest place in London now, and a prime location.

They also offered me another place in The Palms, which has the biggest water fountain in Dubai. In December they had the biggest firework in Dubai and we have been working on it because it is a $3 million project and we hope to be done in two weeks time and looking for an opening around the end of June.

We also opened one in Dubai, on Sheikh Zayed Road. It is our first restaurant out of London and it is doing well.

We are working on another project in Atlanta, USA, and after the USA outlet, we will consider Nigeria.

• In London and Dubai, Enish has hosted the likes of Mayweather, Rick Ross, Davido, and Anthony Joshua over the years. You have also done some projects with media houses like BBC, Google, and Sky. How far has that impacted your brand, and can you tell us the composition of your guests in the London and Dubai restaurants so far?

Of course! We are simply changing the narrative for Nigerian brands.   People want to connect with Enish. But initially, in Dubai, they did not want to give us space for a restaurant in a hotel because it is a five-star hotel. They said they don’t want a Nigerian outfit, and it did not go well with me. If it was in the UK, I would have taken it up. But I stood my ground that Nigerians are not a nuisance and that we are from the UK and we run the biggest Nigerian restaurant chain in London. It was a white lady, the director of the company, who is from the UK, who recognized Enish and our quality and allowed us. Even when we got there, some were laughing at us and asking where we would get money to maintain the place because it is quite expensive; about $30,000 a month rent. Even one of the kings came and asked how we are going to maintain the place because people underrate Nigeria.

Some gave us three months to pack up, but after one year, we are the best restaurant in the hotel, and making the highest sales. Another outfit has invited me to establish it in their place, too. In the UK, USA, and other places, people want to work with Enish. So, things are changing, and Nigeria is picking up. We really worked hard to change the narratives, and it is impacting positively on brand Nigeria.

It is amazing the patronage from Londoners. The patronage at the restaurant in Finchley Road in London is composed of 60 per cent whites and 40 per cent Nigerians. I am the best Nigerian restaurant in London, so any media in the UK that wants to partner Nigeria, they do come to Enish.

• What are the new developments in Enish after the initial customer feedback?

We opened another restaurant in January, which we called Enish Africa; it has more than five different African countries to serve-Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Nigeria.

It is a buffet service; you come, buy, and pay. It is for all Africa and it has been doing very well since opening. I am even thinking of renaming and rebranding as Enish Africa.

But I am pro-Nigeria. When we first got to Dubai, I wanted to focus on Nigeria because Nigeria is doing well. But Dubai is a showbiz destination; they bring in a lot of artistes. If there is a Nigerian artiste somewhere, other Nigerian restaurants will not be busy. So, when they were planning another visit by a Nigerian artiste, I called a Kenyan promoter to bring his artistes for us to do something.

The fact is that Kenya has more population in Dubai than Nigeria, even Uganda. So, it is more profitable to host an African-wide artiste and offer and not just focus on Nigeria alone in Dubai.

So, when they were hosting Davido and I had a Kenyan artiste, the restaurant was very packed. That was when I realised that it should be more than Nigeria. It should be Africa.

So, we are marketing the new restaurant as a destination. It is going to be an African hub. We will be having pop-ups during the week and spicing things up with African varieties.

• You mentioned in one of your interviews that the Whites appreciates the menu compared to Nigerians . How is that possible?*

My concept is serving local food in a five-star environment. Our food has so many flavours that even the whites appreciate. Sadly, it is Nigeria that really doesn’t appreciate her food.

It is local, but well presented. When they come in, they appreciate the sophisticated environment, and that further indulges them to patronise us. We are doing everything well. It is just the environment and presentation that we have been lacking.

I can present pounded yam and ‘egusi’ soup, which you know, in a way that you will hardly recognize the well-known menu again. It is still a local taste. Foreigners like sophisticated restaurants but want the menu to be as local or authentic as it is in the country of origin.

If you eat in a Chinese restaurant anywhere in the world, it is still the same menu and taste they offer in their home country, China.

I think Nigerians and Africans at large should start appreciating our local food. Surprisingly, the local food I serve has taken me to places, and many people appreciate the effort, creativity, presentation, and all that go into the menu.

For instance, there has not been any Nigerian restaurant in Central London, and we are going to be the first, and it will still be the same local menu. When you come there, you will feel and eat the local menu.

• Are you saying that foreigners eat Nigerian menu in Enish restaurants?* No  complaints that Nigerian food is always spicy?

Jollof rice, egusi soup, and efo riro eaten with pounded yam in Dubai. Also, in Dubai, we have what we called gold-plated pounded yam. It is pounded yam wrapped in 24-carat foil. It is all about presentation because Dubai is showbiz, when you serve that guests are thrilled to see and taste it. We have a standard; we do mild, and if you want it spicier, we will offer you too. But the whites keep asking us how come our food is not spicy because they thought Nigerian food is very spicy. But an average Nigerian abroad does not like much pepper like folks at home.

• I heard in one of your restaurants that you serve guests with the local indigenous clay plates. How do you maintain the same standard across all your outlets?

I have my own strategy. I have Enish Restaurant and Bar, Enish Restaurant, and Lounge Enish Bukka and Enish Africa. The fact is that you can go to any Enish, but you will feel like you are in a different restaurant. For instance, in some of the restaurants, we use clay plates to serve.

• Your menus are local foods, and you have been able to create employment for Africans living in London and Dubai. Can you tell us the number of Africans working in your restaurants?

Yes! We get most of our food stuff from Nigeria, and our cooks are Nigerians. In fact, We have not less than 200 Nigerians working in our restaurants, and they are happy with where they work. If I am doing Ghana or South Africa, it has to be local Ghanaian and South African cooks because I don’t like chefs, I prefer cooks, the local ones; they know the food and the cooking strategy.

• You have Enish restaurants in London and Dubai. Where’s next?*

Expansion. we have London and Dubai restaurants. We are going to Atlanta and after that we will come to Nigeria because the Nigerian restaurant will be the biggest of them all. It will be in Lagos. I recently visited Nigeria with the Enish strategic team to see for ourselves what works and the concept we can bring into our Nigeria outlet when we start. I visited 12 restaurants and six clubs, had meetings with Nike Art Gallery, Wakanow, and others. There will be collaborations because my vision is to make Enish an African hub, where when you think of Africa, you think of Enish.