Cestrian Shafiq Sharif had no experience of running eateries, or any business experience at all, when a bold idea came to him during a visit to the old Chester Market in 2020. The HR advisor had just moved back to Chester after ten years away, and had not been to the market since his days buying Pokemon cards and comic books as a teenager.
“My mate said we should go to the market for some food, and I thought ‘I don’t want to go to the market for food, it’s all old and rubbish.’” said Shafiq, 32. “I went there, and I was really amazed. I didn’t realise all these great eateries were in there, like Nice Bites, The Sandbar, Death by Tacos.”
Shafiq says his mum’s cooking was so good that his friends sometimes offered to buy it, which he always refused. He decided to enquire about setting up his own food stall at the market and have his mum cook. Six months later, he was invited to pitch his idea.
“There were a lot of failures, because it was completely new,” said Shaf. “But, because of the community that the market brings, I got a wealth of knowledge from people who have been in the game for years.
“With that vast wealth of information from Nice Bites and Martin from Seafood Shack, we went from strength to strength.
Shafiq has now opened his second business, Wingers, at the Red Lion pub in Handbridge. The eatery serves an array of wings in different flavours and a selection of burgers.
For the full story, see Cheshire Live