A Midland catering company is turning up the heat and aiming to expand nationwide.
The Greek Outdoors, which specialises in barbecued food for outdoor events, is based in Stourport-on-Severn in Worcestershire is set to grow by offering franchise opportunities.
‘‘We are in negotiations with two or three people but I feel that in 2014 we will have at least four or five franchises,’’ said 51-year-old company founder and director Chris Ellinas . ‘‘We want to grow the business and the key thing is to have the right people to push the brand further.’’
Chris added that he is looking for franchisees who will follow the example he and his wife Christalla have set.
‘‘It’s a people business; we’ve built up our business through networking and by offering a good service and being nice to people.’’
Chris, who has worked in, owned and run fish and chip shops for 35 years, founded The Greek Outdoors in 2008 after experiencing a disappointing pig roast organised for a friend’s 40thbirthday party.
‘‘I thought I could do better,’’ he said. But he knew that to be successful his enterprise had to offer something different.
‘‘I’m of Cypriot origin so I had some Cypriot-style barbecues, called Foukou, specially made in London. The Foukou consists of three long horizontal skewers and 11 vertical skewers so they’re quite versatile.’’
Traditional methods are used to cook pork, lamb and chicken and at first Chris burnt charcoal on the barbecues to provide the heat. But this year he has started importing from Greece olive pip briquettes, made from crushed olive stones, as an alternative fuel.
‘‘It is eco-friendly and throws out a lot more heat than charcoal,’ he said. ‘‘I’m doing my bit for the planet and getting a better product at the end of the day.’’
Chris and his wife both who’s families come from Aradippou launched the company with a barbecue in their garden for friends. Word got around and they began to get bookings, with more inquiries coming through their company website.
In October last year The Greek Outdoors was chosen by entrepreneur Theo Paphitis as an award winner on his Small Business Sunday initiative (#SBS) which rewards companies that tweet @TheoPaphitis and pitch their business. It helped raise the firm’s profile and gave it national publicity.
‘‘We grew the business year on year but because we are now being contacted from all over the country through the Internet I feel it is the time to offer the franchises as I can’t be everywhere,’’ said Chris.
Most of the catering work is at weekends so Chris also has a four-day-a-week job at Mitchell Potatoes in Rugby, mainly supplying the fish and chip trade. He said potential franchisees could consider The Greek Outdoors as a second job to supplement their main income and earn extra cash for things like holidays.
‘‘Most of our work is from March to October, although last year I worked till December,’’ he revealed.
A Greek Outdoors franchise costs from £8,895 plus fees.
‘‘Each franchisee will have an area, around 150,000 – 200,000 population, depending of gross household disposable income, so somebody in Surrey would have a smaller area than somebody in Bradford,’’ said Chris.
He would love to see the business grow significantly.
‘‘Launching in America would be great – that’s a much bigger pie. But I’ll be happy if it takes off in this country.’’