{"id":18846,"date":"2026-01-22T11:08:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T11:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/?p=18846"},"modified":"2026-01-22T11:08:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T11:08:29","slug":"shakir-haq-on-nkp-empire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/shakir-haq-on-nkp-empire\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Empire\u2019s Comeback: Shakir Haq on Surviving COVID and Rebuilding Stronger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this candid conversation, Ashish Tulsian sits down with Shakir Haq to unpack the moments that shaped him as a restaurant leader, from early lessons learned on the floor to high-stakes decisions during COVID, and the shift from \u201cgrowth at any cost\u201d to building the systems and culture required for sustainable scale. The discussion moves beyond outlets and numbers to something deeper: why restaurants are ultimately a <em>people business<\/em>, and why consistency, governance, and intent determine whether a brand can truly expand without diluting the experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"We Were Just few Days Away From Collapse ft. Shakir Haq | Inside NKP Empire\u2019s COVID Survival Story\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RR_7KDUBtwM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Shakir, take us back to the start. What did the early days in the restaurant business look like for you?<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><strong>Shakir Haq:<\/strong> I was inspired by my dad from the time I was 9 or 10. I would hop into his car on weekends and go with him to the restaurant. The moment he walked in, the whole vibe changed. People called him \u201cTiger.\u201d He was obsessed with perfection, protocols, process, and quality control. Even the smallest lapse, like serving our complimentary gravy cold, could set off a tsunami. But what stayed with me even more was how he treated people. He respected the cleaning staff, security, cooks, waiters, and everyone. He taught me something that never left: we are in the people business, not the food business. Everything in our business starts and ends with people, from vendors to staff to customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>That \u201cpeople business\u201d line is powerful. How did your father explain it to you?<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><strong>Shakir Haq:<\/strong> He said everything we do involves people. If you serve a customer well, he smiles and comes back; that\u2019s how a brand is built. If the day is bad and the food is not great, what else will ensure the customer still returns? And he went further. He said it doesn\u2019t even start with the customer. It starts with the vendor, because you can\u2019t cook unless you procure. So people are the foundation, and nothing can replace that in our business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>You describe 2018 to 2020 as being a \u201cwatchman\u201d in the business. What do you mean by that?<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><strong>Shakir Haq:<\/strong> For those two years, I was mostly observing. I didn\u2019t know what to say, what to project, or even fully understand the systems. It was painful. But it also signaled to people that I was planning something, even if quietly. After my dad passed, my wife\u2019s uncle told me something I\u2019ll never forget: my father\u2019s life is like an encyclopedia. I will face the same chapters, and my job is to change the outcome. But the key is intent, niyat. And he warned me: don\u2019t start off big, endure, move slow and steady. That\u2019s why I watched. If I took big actions overnight, the consequences could sink us, because we were already on a thin line financially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Then COVID hit. What was the situation like for Empire when lockdowns started?<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><strong>Shakir Haq:<\/strong> It was brutal. We had opened an outlet three days before the lockdown announcement, and we were already in debt, around 25\u201330 crores. Restaurants shut down, thousands of people had no salary, and their bank accounts were negative. It felt like: Is this the end of Empire? What saved us was the goodwill built by my grandfather, father, and uncles. People came forward asking how they could help us bounce back. We started Zoom calls, and my team\u2019s assurance was clear: \u201cWe are here for you, for your father, for your uncle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Once you had the money, what were your immediate priorities?<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><strong>Shakir Haq:<\/strong> Landlords, vendors, and staff. We had around 67 landlords, including outlets and staff rooms. Some waived rent for months because of the relationship. I used the money to start clearing obligations, even though payables were higher than what I had. I told staff openly: I will pay you back, but I don\u2019t know when. Then we reopened in phases and built a contactless dining program with strict safety protocols, including tray-based service and even live kitchen visibility on screens. Delivery platforms helped keep kitchens running. Revenue dropped massively, and it took over a year to return to pre-COVID levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Let\u2019s talk about growth philosophy. You\u2019re strongly against \u201cscale will fix it.\u201d Why?<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><strong>Shakir Haq:<\/strong> Because if the taste is not the same in outlet A and outlet B, we haven\u2019t cracked it. What\u2019s the point of scaling? We made mistakes, including burning money in the cloud kitchen hype cycle. Then I realized our backend was broken: procurement governance was weak, the central kitchen setup was chaotic, vendors were unmanaged, and aggressive growth made us ignore fundamentals. Even the same chef could produce inconsistent results when volume and complexity increased. That\u2019s when the idea of a Centre of Excellence started forming for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What does the Centre of Excellence actually represent for you?<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><strong>Shakir Haq:<\/strong> It\u2019s about building artisanal creativity with industrial consistency. We expanded the facility significantly, invested heavily, and brought in technology, IoT, and intelligence at a factory level to replicate what a great chef does in a restaurant, but consistently at scale. We had to balance science and art to create magic, while maintaining quality and precision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Your expansion strategy is unusually selective. What\u2019s the thinking behind Vision 2030?<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><strong>Shakir Haq:<\/strong> Vision 2030 is not \u201copen hundreds of outlets.\u201d I\u2019m looking at around 25 more outlets, with a focus on cultural and structural shift. Empire is a regional brand with regional importance. Karnataka is home turf, and I want to strengthen the state first and expand nearby thoughtfully. There are markets I consciously avoid because they can dilute the brand\u2019s \u201cexcitement\u201d and value for the customer. The bigger focus for Vision 2030 is mindset and culture, including how leaders treat people, down to basics like calling staff by their names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What\u2019s your view on Gen Z as customers and as the next generation shaping dining habits?<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><strong>Shakir Haq:<\/strong> Gen Z is more balanced and purposeful than we give them credit for. We\u2019re seeing night business reduce, and Gen Z plays a role because they are more health-conscious, drink less, and don\u2019t want to stay out late. But they still want comfort food and a safe, predictable environment. They\u2019re clear about what they want and can switch quickly, so consistency matters even more. And Gen Alpha is a different level altogether, very clear, very vocal, and potentially far more entitled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Finally, what\u2019s your learning system? How do you keep growing?<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><strong>Shakir Haq:<\/strong> I learn by following my gut. If something catches my attention and my gut says there\u2019s something in it, I try it. A lot of learning comes from mistakes and negative outcomes. I\u2019m not a voracious reader, but I learn from movies, situations, and people. If you want three recommendations: The Blacklist, the Batman trilogy for the \u201cwhy do we fall\u201d lesson, and Ratatouille for precision and zero compromise. Even today, we\u2019re dealing with challenges like switching to natural alternatives in recipes while protecting product experience, because consistency is non-negotiable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Conclusion&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shakir\u2019s reflections show what happens when leadership shifts from reacting to daily fires to intentionally rebuilding fundamentals, protecting culture, and designing systems that hold up under scale. Whether it\u2019s navigating a crisis, clearing debt to restore stability, or investing in a Centre of Excellence to deliver \u201cartisanal creativity with industrial consistency,\u201d the larger message is clear: sustainable growth doesn\u2019t come from opening more locations. It comes from earning trust, every day, in every outlet, with every plate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this candid conversation, Ashish Tulsian sits down with Shakir Haq to unpack the moments that shaped him as a restaurant leader, from early lessons learned on the floor to high-stakes decisions during COVID, and the shift from \u201cgrowth at any cost\u201d to building the systems and culture required for sustainable scale. The discussion moves [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":18848,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-restrocast-podcast"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18846"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18850,"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18846\/revisions\/18850"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}