Process journey
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In Brief
The Ojak restaurant was something that was planned for way in the future. The pandemic presented me with an opportunity that allowed
me to bring it to life sooner than expected.
Bring ojak to life
location
Scouting for sites
Design
Development
Concept and inspiration
Planning comittee and delays.
• Ojak's concept originally took influence from the successful brand LEON & Carluccio's but I was ready to adapt depending on location and type of foot traffic.
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• Visiting many sites accross North and West London I came upon an old Sanppy Snapps that decided to close down.
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• Not my favoured location in terms of size and development but on the map it was a 5 min walk from Hyde Park so I went for it.
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• The name OJAK is a play on the Turkish word Ocak, which means somewhere heat is used to cook like a oven or stove. It can also mean family.
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• The logo & emblem was inspired by the bold text used by the Bauhaus movement. The dot and empty space either side represents a paice of meat on a skewer.
• Layout and interior design was a lengthy process involving my original concepts and an Architecht. Project budget dictated many elements of the design process, restrictions and timeline.
• Get a planning consultant!
Westminster council and the residential association SERBA will make things challenging if you go at the planning application yourself.
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• Being a conservation area, many red flags are raised when putting a restaurant together; Flue vent and, tree removal were my kryptonite. Even though I personally took the correct avenue I still had objections, 8 in total, any thing above 5 brings me to have to present my case to a planning committee.
• Not my favourite experience but many insights listening to other cases while I awaited my turn to speak My case proved that I had grounds
to continue with the development. This process created a 5 month delay
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Opening preparations and hard-opening.
As the construction and cosmetics of the restaurant came to a finish we were able to get in the kitchen and test a few dishes to test on family & friends in a soft launch, feedback was great overall and we were ready to go. Our opening was received well and business went off to a great start... then Omicron (Covid strain) gave us a setback, most of London disappeared for 1.5 months and this was tough for Ojak.
We survived this and moved forward. In 2021 I decided to sell and move on, so I can focus on my UX career.
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Insights
Patience and optimism are required with a large project,
also understanding when to stop or move forward.
You can't switch off even when the business is closed, it is a major commitment until the business is established or you have trustworthy staff.
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