Sujay S Sohani and Subodh Joshi are among the many people whose lives took a U-turn when the Great Recession hit the world back in 2007. Sujay Sohani reportedly lost his job post-recession and so made an effort to start a business of his own. He went up to his former classmate Subodh Joshi who was also hit by the economic slowdown and decided to open a vada pav stall in London.
Seven years on, the duo now earn more than Rs 4 crore a year, thanks to the thriving vada pav chain in London. The duo were classmates at Bandra’s Rizvi College in 1999 where they studied hotel management and managed to get a decent job in London. All hell broke loose after the recession hit the world.
“After completing the course, we decided to pursue a post-graduate degree in London. When we finished the course, we got jobs in reputed hotels and were earning well. Everything was fine, until the recession hit us,” Joshi was quoted as saying. Before they open the vada pav stall, they also started a Polish ice cream cafe which did not earn him enough profits.
In a bit to advertise their product and make the English familiar with the Indian burger, the duo hit the Hounslow streets and urged people to try Vada Pao for free. “As burgers were being sold in other shops for nothing less than £5 (Rs 440), we promoted our item as the Indian variant that was available to them for less than half the price at £2 (Rs 175),” Sohani said.
They started opening more stalls once the business had started gaining a momentum. They accepted orders for wedding and other parties and also included several others Indian street food dishes on their menu.
Today, Sujay Subodh have over 35 people including Indians and Romanians working for them.
Source: Mid-Day
