Brothers Saif Bhanwadia and Sohail Khoja – along with business partner Rahim Gilani – say the new A&W franchise in Haliburton has been warmly welcomed.
They opened this past weekend in the Hops Drive plaza area. The two are from the Oshawa area and said the Gilani Group has seven A&Ws, the nearest in Beaverton.
They have relocated temporarily and have brought a team from the GTA to get the fast-food franchise up-and-running, but are looking to hire additional local staff.
“We just wanted to give the guests a proper experience to start with; knowing what to expect because it is a new location,” Khoja said of the soft opening.
Bhanwadia added, “the love the community has given us since we opened is so good to see. Usually when it’s an opening, it’s stressful, but the last three days (Saturday, Sunday, Monday), we were not stressed at all because every guest had a smile on their face and has been welcoming.
“I think they were waiting for it a long time.”
They said they opted to start with the soft launch Jan. 18 – after only receiving occupancy the day before.
“Saturday morning, we were up and running,” Khoja said. The brothers plan to be in town another couple of weeks to ensure things are running smoothly before they leave the franchise in the hands of a manager and staff.
They plan to “build a team with the community.” They will monitor monthly staffing with an expectation they will have more hires for the summer. They said they would bring experience from other stores to make staffing decisions.
Khoja said, “this is for Haliburton. Because when we opened the doors… I think it was the fourth or fifth guest who said they had been waiting for 60 years for this kind of thing. So, this community needed something like this. It’s amazing to see the love.”
When the store was forced to close Tuesday, they said customers were understanding with “not a single guest saying any bad words or anything like that. That’s what the community is all about.”
They added customer service will be their main focus. They also view the community as part of their extended family.
The A&W is part of a new plaza that will include a gas station and dollar store. It is not known when the other two businesses will open their doors.
