In this sit down with Seyifunmi Michael Bakare, you would revel in the perception of a man set about to achieve anything his hands find doing.
Aside from producing music and being on tour with some of Afrobeats’ best, Seyifunmi is a burger Shifu too. With the music jamming from the speakers, we had to go inside his car to set the ball rolling. The man was making sure everything ran smoothly.
Born into a family that entertains guests and family in tens, a young Seyifunmi caught on the culinary skills by making burgers for his friends at the slightest opportunity. He describes himself as a lover of the food business, “I love food business. I was introduced into food business by my dad. I just love feeding people. In our house back then, we never used to cook for ourselves alone. We used to be like 30 people in the house. My mom was a lady evangelist so there were always people eating breakfast, lunch and dinner in our house. It’s always been my dream. I have always loved the food business idea.”
Like your regular Nigerian child where the influences stemmed from adults around you as you grow up, Seyifunmi picked through his thinking cap and decided to become a glimpse of what had always happened him while he lived with his parents. The COVID period was as challenging to any all over the world. Almost everything was grounded to a halt, lives were being affected and the impact really weighed the shoulders weary.
“In 2020 right after the COVID, I just started thinking to myself – what can I do? I’ll just call over some of my friends and make burgers and wings for them. And then one night, I just woke up and agreed to myself that this is heavy on my mind. I think I can do this thing for a living. I’ll open a small spot since there’s nothing like that inside this Magodo.
“Initially, I didn’t think of making money at the first steps of the business. I just wanted to start the business. I just liked the idea that people come to my establishment to eat. Miraculously, I got the present location Three Kings Burger is. I couldn’t get a shop, I got a portion of a land space and designed the structure from scratch myself, built it from scratch too. The construction started July\August and we began operations in October 1st 2020. It’s always been cheaped.”
At the junction, we laughed hard. Hearing how ridiculous it is to call anything cheap in Nigeria begs a depth of understanding. As prices skyrocket and the quality dipping, most products have increased in purchasing prices and the quality leaves regrets. But not for Seyifunmi!
“Till date, I have not seen one person that’s tried and said they don’t like it. Never! People keep asking me when are you coming to this place and that place. This year alone, I’ve had like five people who want to invest and make up franchise elsewhere. So like I said earlier, it’s always been cheap and that’s my personal approach.
“Well, it’s a business and selling is a must but I enjoy thinking and saying this – “Let me just feed people.”
Speaking on the new name, Seyifunmi explained that many variations may come to play on the minds of the populace but the services his company is offering has prompted the renaming to meet global best practices. “We are majorly known for our burgers and wings. So right now, we decided to add sharwama to the menu. These offerings come at below the market price but shouldn’t everybody enjoy life’s crunchy, tasty and juicy mouth watering delicacies too?”
With Nigeria running the hurdles and gasping for lifelines in her sectors, Three Kings Burger serves quality food delicacies no matter the weather. By faith, in December, you will start seeing us in many other places. I’m opening doors for investors and the likes to open other franchise elsewhere. These are people who have tasted our products. By God’s grace, we are going international too.
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