Selma Roth Saudi Gazette Starting up your own restaurant through social media sounds like a dream come true. And it is for Faris Hani Al-Torki. The 34-year-old entrepreneur decided to open his own restaurant F6or_Faris (read: Futoor Faris, which translates as Faris' Breakfast) after gaining immense popularity on Twitter while posting his daily breakfast pictures. The place offers an extensive menu, from traditional Saudi and Hijazi favorites — think foul, masoub, liver sandwich, scrambled egg — to American-style waffles and pancakes. Al-Torki is a role model for many aspiring Saudi businessmen as well as the Labor Ministry. But this is only one side of the story, and to think having your own successful business is all glitter and glamor is a misleading assumption. Al-Torki didn't know anything about the hospitality industry before he started out, and is now happy he didn't. Had he known all the challenges beforehand he wouldn't have started this venture, he admits. Once he realized this there was no way back anymore that he decided to tackle them (challenges) step by step. Al-Torki comes across as an average Saudi: A fairly short, good-natured man with a generous smile. And like many Saudis, he did not use to eat breakfast in the mornings. Waking up late, he would perhaps have a coffee or tea and then wait until lunchtime to have his first (heavy) meal. One day, a friend challenged him to participate in a local marathon event. With that, serious late-afternoon training sessions began. All went well, until one day Al-Torki collapsed. He was taken to the hospital, where he underwent several tests. The results spoke for themselves: the seemingly healthy Saudi was low on several minerals, and the doctor urged him to begin his days from now on with a nutritious breakfast. The advice opened up a breakfast scene Al-Torki had been completely oblivious about. Starting off having his first meal of the day at home, he soon found out how much fun it was to go out and have breakfast in different restaurants every day. He also began shooting pictures of his meals and posted them on Twitter under the hashtag #f6or_faris. Before long, he gained enormous popularity, and his followers expected a breakfast pic every single day. Al-Torki decided to set up a new account exclusively for these pictures — F6or_Faris — which quickly became more popular than his private account. Finding new restaurants had become a daily activity, and even when traveling he would look for the breakfast hotspots in town. But only when people started asking him where this amazing breakfast place was did the thought of establishing his own business grow in his mind. Coming up with the idea is one thing, but making it happen was a whole different thing. With an MBA in his pocket, Al-Torki was not a complete novice to the world of business, but he did not know anything about the hospitality industry let alone think he would ever start his own restaurant. Upon completion of a feasibility study and business plan, Al-Torki was disappointed to find out none of his friends was interested in helping him financially. They thought a place entirely focused on breakfast just wouldn't work. Al-Torki himself, however, was convinced it would be a success. After all, his account was booming and people in the Kingdom associated breakfast with a healthy and trendy lifestyle. After much deliberation, Al-Torki took his chances and invested all his savings in addition to a personal loan into the project, while continuing his fulltime job at a private bank. In April last year, he finally opened his first branch on Jeddah's Tahlia Street. The place has been jam-packed ever since, with one-hour waiting times no exception on the weekends and during holidays. One year later, F6or_Faris has built quite a reputation. No wonder, his guests keep promoting his restaurant daily by posting their breakfast pictures on Twitter and Instagram, on the TV screens inside, while word of mouth is another strong tool. He hasn't spent a halala on advertisements. And although the interior is simple with its dominating blue and white “Twitter colors” and personal messages from customers all over the walls, and the food decent but nothing to drool about – a big exception for the Chocolate Pancake – people keep coming back for more F6or_Faris. It is perhaps because this place is more than a breakfast joint. It is a lifestyle, an ideology, the thriving thought that any average guy can compete with well-known American chains. It does not matter that the interior is unpretentious and his budget limited, because Al-Torki has a vision. And it was this vision that let him create his own restaurant out of a hashtag rather than opting the safe and easy — albeit unoriginal — path of opening a franchise. It is also this vision which are broadcasted instantly that made him decide to hire predominantly Saudi waiters, which he manages to keep by giving them a good working environment and involving them in important decisions, thus making them feel part of his brand. Al-Torki is now about to open his second branch up north on King Road. The new branch will be more luxurious, as his budget has increased. This, however, won't affect the brand. Al-Torki now has taken up the dauntless challenge of having only women in the kitchen. But isn't Al-Torki afraid his business has a limited shelf life, given the swiftness with which social media rise and fall? He isn't, for two reasons. One is that F6or_Faris is not merely focusing on Twitter anymore. Their Instagram account has overtaken Twitter's popularity, and as soon as a new platform comes up he will start an account on that. Social media in itself is not likely to fade any time soon, Al-Torki believes. The second reason is that by now, his business has grown into a well-known and well-respected brand that would even survive without the help of social media. Al-Torki certainly is an admirable person. His creativity and entrepreneurship recently gave him the chance to speak at Effat University's TEDx event in addition to numerous conferences organized by the Saudi Labor Ministry, who is desperately trying to encourage young Saudis to adopt his mindset as well as to convince businesses to learn from Al-Torki's Saudization achievements in a field where many believe it is impossible to entice Saudis to work in. Al-Torki showed them it is possible to attain excellent service and committed employees in a 90-percent Saudi environment. F6or_Faris is located in Aster Center on Tahlia Street, Jeddah. Meals cost around SR30 per item.
