By Ebun Sessou

Okpemi Metseagharun is the proprietor  of Nolays Fast Food in Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos. The Delta State born young man says he ate food poison and hospitalized for three days. In this interview, he speaks on the need for young people to be courageous in starting up businesses. Excerpts:

How did your idea on Nolays came about?

The idea came after I ate food poison in 2012. I visited a popular fast food restaurant in town and bought  food. I couldn’t eat it, so, I took it home. As much as I patronize restaurants, I make sure I don’t eat there.

I hardly take ill but, on  this fateful day, it was a different story. I ate the food; an hour thereafter, I realized that I had eaten food poison. Before I knew what was happening, I was hospitalized and I spent three days in the hospital.

But, something kept ringing in my mind. I was thinking of the healthy condition of the food I ate. The truth is most fast food restaurants give people poison because of the way their foods are prepared. Whereas, many families love to hang out on weekends in a beautiful environment to spend quality time with their loved ones in these restaurants.

Okpemi Metseagharun

Unfortunately, nobody dares find out how healthy are the restaurants. How prepared are they in terms of hygiene? Do they ensure that they prepare their food in a healthy manner that would improve people’s lives?

That was how my inspiration on Nolays came about. I said to myself, ‘if the restaurant that gave me food poison had adhered to the rules of hygiene, I would not have had problem with food poison’.

The poison might have come from different means, either through food procurement, processing or serving. So, I was inspired that, there is more to be done in giving people healthy food. There is no reason we should give people poisonous food in the name of operating a restaurant. It is not enough to eat well but to eat healthy. I was inspired to open a healthy restaurant that would cater for the needs of people.

Starting up?

I never wanted to rush into what I will not be able to sustain. So, I decided to embark on research that would help in the business. There is need to ensure that the food that comes to the people is in good condition and so, I spent the entire life on research. And when I was able to come up with a template that would sustain my business, then I set the ball rolling.

But the vision does not stop in setting up a restaurant. My vision is to get a total family package where family can come, eat healthy and relax. I want to entertain the family and make them comfortable.

 Challenges?

I have not worked in a fast food outlet before but I have worked in a restaurant for three months.

My first job after the university was in a restaurant which I did for three months. It was at that place that I gathered idea on how restaurant operates. Nursing the idea was a huge challenge. There are serious challenges you are bound to face when planning for this type of business, especially when you are not using a template that belongs to someone else. Those fast food restaurants you are seeing around did  not start in a day. It took a while for them to be established. Many started small and growed big with time.

But, for me, starting up and getting to the level where other are immediately was quite challenging. I had to engage the service of professionals who helped in putting the idea together.

After getting the template right for the business, my wife and I thought of the name to give to the fast food. We took time to brainstorm on the name but we couldn’t come up with a particular one. At that time, I had given my engineers instruction to design a template and they asked me what name to call it and I told them to call it any name.

Meanwhile, I have an existing digital company called Nolays Limited so, when I asked my engineer to give any name, they just went ahead and gave it Nolays. That was when it dawned on me that Nolays is nice. And I felt, it was nice for our name to make us a brand. People will know your name for what it produces and not because of what is attached to it.

 Looking at the present economy situation of the country, how do you intend to drive traffic to your business?

The fact that we must produce foods with high standard and hygiene means that we should not compromise. But, if we fail to consider quality because of pricing, then we will fall short of the standard.

Considering, the economy situation of the country, we decided to give the best of our service in terms of food. There is need to get the best material at the best price. What we are doing now is offering people the best food service at the best price.

 What type of food would Nolays be producing and why?

Nolays has two sections. The restaurant section and the fruit section. The fruit section will take care of the smoothies, juice, fresh fruits, fruit salad, vegetable salad while the restaurant will take care of the continental, African dishes.