A new Chaii venue, the first of its kind in the region, has held its grand opening in Bolton.
Karak Chaii, which can now be found in Derby Street, just a short distance from the town centre, was festooned with balloons and already thronged with customers on Saturday afternoon.
Khadija Ravat has recently returned to her hometown from Blackburn to start the venture with co-founder Sohail Adam, and says she hopes to see it prove a hit both locally and with visitors.
She said: “I really wanted to show people that my heart always belonged to Bolton and I hope maybe now some of my friends will want to come and visit Bolton to try it out for themselves.
“We’re the first Karak Chaii in the North West so we really want to give people a taste of authentic street food and provide a warm welcoming environment.”
The franchise, which specialises in the sweet Indian tea Chaii, originated in Birmingham and draws on the culinary styles most associated with the Indian subcontinent.
Other franchises can be found throughout the country, but the Bolton venue marks the first taste people in this regional will have had of Karak Chaii.
The Bolton business already employs 10 members of staff, with more possibly set to join them later on, and serves a wide variety of food and drinks, including hot and cold varieties of chai.
The opening was attended by Mayor of Bolton Cllr Mohammed Ayub, deputy leader of Bolton Council Cllr Akhtar Zaman, and cabinet member for stronger communities Cllr Rabiya Jiva, along with first time customers from the nearby area.
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Cllr Jiva said: “We’re always looking to support new businesses and particularly business ventures from women in the community.
“We’ve seen how women can make such a contribution to society and so we all really want to encourage more and more women to take an active role in business.”
The attending councillors were all able to sample the food and drinks from the menu, which range from midday snacks to more extensive meals.
Now that it is open for business, Karak Chaii will be open from 9am to 11pm.
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