Sorry." Before the conversation has even started properly, Umar Mirza (The Hague, 1987) has already smothered a few phone calls. Anyone who knows the CV of this committed butcher's son of Pakistani parents will not be surprised by that hustle. He is a partner at MDI Consultants, with clients including ABN Amro and the municipality of Rotterdam. He is also chairman of the day, keynote speaker, chairman of the advisory board of the Art Museum and founder of the Hague-based social training programme School of Shapers. Not to mention the reason for this get-together: the emerging restaurant chain Ekmekci, which he can call himself owner together with his friend and founder Murat Cifci, a Rotterdam baker's son with Turkish roots.

Umar Mirza at the flagship Ekmekci restaurant on Spuistraat.

The entrepreneur himself prefers to talk about content, averse to pretensions as he is. To do so, he picks the smallest table in the Ekmekci establishment on Gravenstraat, filled with fine, oriental aromas. "My regular spot. That way I don't take up too much space in front of the customers and I can have a good overview of the place," laughs the conversationalist after ordering a cappuccino.

Besides its newly opened flagship on Spuistraat, this restaurant is one of two locations in The Hague. Mirza and Cifci are also expanding in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Almere, Dordrecht, Zoetermeer and even Antwerp. And this is just the beginning. "Within five years, we want to scale up to 50 locations. Our ambitions are global!"

Ekmekci

The concept of Ekmekci - Turkish for baker - is as brilliant as it is simple: Mediterranean lunchrooms for all, in prominent locations, with an international ambience and a contemporary menu full of Mediterranean influences. "Fast but fresh. So no fast food," Mirza sums up.

The 'signature dish' is gözleme, a kind of flat wrap made of yufka dough. "In Turkey, it is often filled with simple ingredients, but Ekmekci has developed it into a whole new product. For example, there is 'The Mexican', with jalapeños and kidney beans. Or the 'Tuna Melt' with tuna. And the 'Lion King' with chicken piri-piri. I see it as the new pizza: a base you can do anything with. Vegetarian, vegan or halal? No problem."

The 'signature dish' is gözleme, a kind of flat wrap made of yufka dough.

It is proving to be a success. What started a few years ago in Rotterdam's Market Hall has grown into a company with 10 branches and 150 employees. "Murat was destined to be a dentist, but he didn't see his future in that," Mirza outlines to his associate. "He wanted to develop something that would be modern, fresh, modular and for all cultures. Soon there were two branches, in the Market Hall and at Zuidplein, and the question came up: how can I grow further?"

At that time, Murat Cifci and Umar Mirza's paths crossed. "A mutual friend introduced us to each other and it clicked immediately," Mirza recalls. Then he sums up, "We both have migrant parents but were born here and feel like true Dutchmen. We are both from the first generation in the family with a scientific education. Murat is the man of ideas, products and intuition, like: hit the ground running, we'll see. I, on the other hand, am into strategy, scenarios and everything to do with numbers. These character traits complement each other very well in entrepreneurship."

While the financial aspect is important to technical management expert Mirza, Ekmekci's social contribution also weighs heavily in the choices he and his partner make. "These things are not separate for me, I see us as holistic entrepreneurs," he explains. "We want to connect people of all ages and backgrounds at the central locations where we sit. That multiculturalism may be socially outdated, I don't care. I just see it reflected with us. Kadir, our franchiser here in The Hague, knows all the people in the neighbourhood, from the gym to the gay bar. And many of them come here at least once a week, for coffee, a quick bite or to work."

Umar Mirza: "Sometimes people come to us who want to open a lot of locations right away, just to make quick money, but that is at odds with building a community."

The 'Tree of Friendship', a tree of friendship that pontifically adorns the logo and is life-sized in all branches, is therefore no accident. Mirza: "In villages of every culture, the tree is the central place. It is often the oldest and most rooted resident of the village. People seek shelter under it and meet up there." That sense of community also plays a role in attracting new franchisees and employees. "Sometimes people come to us wanting to open a lot of locations right away, just to make quick money, but that is at odds with building a community. I see it as a means of giving a whole new generation the chance to do business in a beautiful place."

Sustainability aspect

And then there is the sustainability aspect. "Obviously, our footprint has to be as small as possible," says Mirza. "That's why we offer a lot of vegan options. Precisely by focusing on scaling up, we are also getting more and more involved in the chain of suppliers. And we combat waste by, among other things, offering the puffed potatoes for the kumpir and the fresh bread at the end of the day via an app at cost price."

As far as he is concerned, that transition is not a moral or commercial choice. "It is join or stay behind, but we do not necessarily profile ourselves with it. Just as it doesn't say big on the windows that our products are halal. Or child labour-free - that goes without saying."

Mirza notices that Ekmekci is being taken seriously by the growth. "In Alexandrium shopping centre in Rotterdam, we are certainly not in the busiest place, but our 120 seats are often full there, the Eindhoven shopping centre has told us that we have changed the flow of walking. And the NS at Rotterdam Centraal even speaks of the Ekmekci effect."

The entrepreneur is now preparing an investment round to achieve further growth. "Investors mainly see Ekmekci's wide reach and international potential, and individual franchisees are actually attracted to its low investment, high revenue potential and growth opportunities," Mirza states. "There are already interested parties from the West Coast in the US to the south of France. We have claimed a unique product in the market, like once the first pizza entrepreneurs."

www.ekmekci.nl