by Olufunke Awobokun
Has the journey been easy? I would say NO but I’m grateful for the lessons.
About 14years ago, during one of my children’s birthday, I decided to serve some other kind of drinks aside the carbonated drinks that we are accustomed to taking at parties. I prepared some cocktails and shared it to the delight of guests. The feedback was amazing and from there I decided it was a business I should venture into.
Cocktails In & Out has been a success, our clients had always smiled and to me that is true definition of success. Before I go into the exciting world of Grills In & Out, let me introduce myself.
My name is Olufunke Awobokun, a trained barrister, wife, mum and a mixologist. I am the founder of ‘Cocktails In & Out/Grills In & Out’. A quiet person by nature, I love to be with my family if I’m not working. Reading a good book is like taking me as a young spinster on a dream date. I love to read.
My journey into business started in Lagos, as a newly married wife, ready to explore & succeed, I didn’t see myself going to the court for a long period of time in my life. I wanted to create and build a business, but I had no idea of what that business would be. So I started reading business books. I read and read again but there was no inspiration. In fact I didn’t get any idea from anywhere. While I was busy searching for inspiration, I had no idea where the money for the business was going to come from, I was simply day dreaming about building a business.
So back to my child’s birthday, I experimented with the cocktails I made for our guests and the feedback was inspiring. My husband actually became my first client because he paid for my experimentation! From then on, I have been expressing my passion for cocktail as a business. Almost immediately after that, I started getting orders from friends and extended family members, so I had no choice but to recruit fresh hands to assist me. The demand was too much that I couldn’t continue to run the business from my backyard. So we decided to get an office that could afford us the luxury to have meetings, train and mix.
Cocktails In And Out is a mobile bar service, we are a team of project managers/coordinators/bar staff and floor staff who work together to provide some of the most exciting cocktails at functions. While we were doing what we know how to do best at functions, I observed that people never used to get excited at the choice of food being served at most events. I sensed boredom when they engage with these foods. All the joy that comes with eating out was missing. Then I began to ask myself, ‘were these caterers not good enough? Is there something missing in the menu?
I have always loved the idea of dining. Fuelled with my passion for hospitality, I began to think of how I could identify the gap that existed in the world of exciting times at parties. As fate would have it, my last daughter’s birthday was coming up, and I needed to create magic with this event. I remembered people were always talking about grills in a special way and I thought to myself, why don’t I serve grills instead of the regular rice,iyan, amala etc. So I ordered for the equipment and it came in at a good time before the party. The idea of serving only grills was a master stroke, every guest wanted an extra plate. I was pleasantly shocked! Another business idea has been giving birth to.
My passion for hospitality will now be taking to the next level, there would be a business extension from Cocktails In And Out.
I remember my husband telling me about a Mongolian restaurant he visited, he wanted me to have a look anytime I was chanced. So when I travelled to Chicago, I made sure I visited a Mongolian restaurant. Alas I have found the missing gap, I can now fill up the vacuum. I was so excited that I could not wait to get back to Nigeria and start looking for a location for my restaurant.
Grills In And Out became a reality in Abuja, where we opened our first outlet in the cosmopolitan city of Abuja. It was a fresh breathe of air and the acceptance was very encouraging. We created an experience that had never existed in Abuja… In our bid to give more value to what we were offering our customers, we decided to add Boli (Roasted Plantain) to our array of exciting menu. Boli became the darling of our customers. The garnishing & packaging was enough to make you order for an extra bite.
I laugh to myself anytime I remember how the idea of Boli came to the equation. While I was pregnant with my third child, I always craved for Boli. I would go round Abuja looking for where I could buy. Often times I never found anywhere to buy. So I devised a means of making one for myself. I would buy the raw plantain and roast it with the oven. And that did the magic, Boli became an available experience for me.
When I look at Grills In And Out Lekki, my mind pace down memory lane. It all started from a sitting room. An idea so small like a mustard seed, nurtured by passion has grown to become a multi-million naira business. Hmmn..It’s been God though but most importantly, I followed my passion. Follow yours too and create your path to success.
