The First Kebab Spot in Blacktown, Sydney
Ask anyone in Blacktown, Greater Western Sydney and they’d be able to tell you about Turkish street food joint King of Kebabs. One of the first kebab shops in town since 2002, the local spot has become a neighbourhood icon for killer kebabs and family night outs.
Diana and Koray took over the family-operated business from their parents a few summers back, determined to give the stalwart business a refreshed edge.
After almost two decades in business, the restaurant has gotten a facelift. However, King of Kebabs is still true to its roots with the same traditional Turkish recipes in the kitchen. Diana and Koray insist on making everything from scratch the way they have since day one.
“We bring families together and offer quality Turkish food at an affordable price. That’s why it’s important to us that everything is handmade in-house here. We haven’t outsourced anything.”
The Challenge: Keeping Up With Competition
For any long-standing restaurant businesses, the main challenge is having to keep up with new competition. Diana tells us about the kebab shops that started popping up in the area along with other trendy joints. Not to mention the variety of options now within the reach of customers on delivery apps. It suddenly felt like everyone is a competitor even if they’re located out of the walking radius.
Unlike other pivoting businesses however, King of Kebabs has always been in the delivery game. But as delivery apps slowly gained popularity, they decided to put a halt on their 15-year long in-house delivery service. They then switched to third-party delivery platforms to leverage on the reach and save time for their staff.
Along with new channels come the challenge of keeping the experience consistent for both dine in and delivery customers. Labour shortages were also putting pressure on the dwindling number of delivery drivers and in turn, customer experience.
“We’ll have the food ready to go in no time. But sometimes, the food will be waiting for about 20 minutes in our oven.”
The Solution: King of Kebabs Kicked-off Virtual Brands With Future Foods
“I think it applies to anyone in the industry. If you want to be in the race, you need to be on top of everything that’s happening. The online platforms and delivery services are one of the things that are moving very fast.”
Diana and Koray soon realised that to be in the restaurant race, it’s important to be at the forefront of new trends, demands and in this case, brands! It wasn’t just about pivoting and surviving, but to keep their top spot in a kebab-competitive landscape and that was when they got a call from Future Foods.
“You have to be a part of this growing platform and virtual brands are a really easy way to do it. Since Future Foods, we’ve been seeing a lot of different consumers coming from our virtual brands on delivery platforms. We were also able to provide more options for customers.”
From the tradies at lunch rush to the students after school and families that get together during the weekend, King of Kebabs has something for everyone on their menu. Known for their kebabs (obviously!) and handmade pizzas, King of Kebabs then kicked off their virtual brands journey with two of Future Foods fan-favourites — The Kebab Truck and Groovy Island Pizza.
Collaborating with Future Foods also turned out to be the cherry on the cake for a smooth workstream. All their orders from multiple brands could now be consolidated into one Hubster tablet. This allowed Diana and Koray to create an easy, speedy system that worked for everyone, from delivery drivers to dine-in customers.
“Delivery riders get notified when orders are ready. That way, the drivers won’t just come into the store and possibly disrupt the flow, which creates a better experience for everyone involved. I also love the fact that it gives me different options. For example if I’m busy, I get to change the operation time and prep-time so that things don’t get too overwhelming. It’s also easily-accessible, user friendly and it’s not hard to use at all.”
How King of Kebabs increased delivery revenue by 10% with Future Foods
So how did it all turn out? King of Kebabs was able to unlock new revenue streams and increasing their delivery profits by over 10%. In the first four weeks alone, The Kebab Truck and Groovy Island Pizza gave the restaurant 107 orders and $1,600.39 in revenue.
Diana and Koray have also shown that the customer experience matters from baking all their bread fresh every morning and going above and beyond on quality packaging that keeps food warm and secure.
“We were thinking about what we can do to keep up and keep being the best. Basically, it’s just keeping the quality and consistency of our food. Making sure that when customers come back, they get the same experience every time. We also focus on our staff members, making sure that they are up to date with all our info and are consistent as well. Those are the things that keep us successful.”
With this discipline for delivery quality, The Kebab Truck is able to maintain a high rating on delivery platforms over the past 2 years with a whopping 4.7 out of 5! Their best selling item? The halal snack pack. And fun fact — the dish is actually originated in Australia as a culinary fusion between Middle-Eastern and European cuisines.
For the King of Kebabs team, the real success is in gaining a whole new customer base through virtual brands.
“Half of them in the area might not even know that we’re there, but this has given them that access. It has also given us avenues now to do other things so that we can focus on getting the food out as soon as possible and keeping our customers happy.”
Do you live near the Greater Sydney area? Put in an order for a delicious halal snack pack and support King of Kebabs here!
Are you a restaurant owner interested in running virtual brands with Future Foods? Fill out the form below to get started.
