A techie who spent 14 years working for companies including Microsoft, Google, YouTube and Cruise, has claimed that he left his Rs 4.25 crore ($450,000) a year job to open a halal barbecue (BBQ) restaurant in Texas, US. Salahodeen Abdul-Kafi, 35, said he decided to walk out of his high-paying job as he had become ‘disillusioned’ with the industry, with the work more focused on making money than improving the lives of people.
Taking a pay cut of more than 50 per cent, Abdul-Kafi joined a religious nonprofit after leaving San Francisco. Alongside the day job, Abdul-Kafi started hosting dinner parties and barbecuing for friends, who said they had not tried anything similar to his cooking style.
While working at the nonprofit, I continued hosting dinner parties and cooking barbecue for friends. I started making halal briskets, and they kept telling me they couldn’t find anything like it.
“That’s when I started wondering whether there was room for something Texas barbecue didn’t already have,” Abdul-Kafi told Business Insider, adding: “Kafi BBQ opened in December 2024. We prepared enough barbecue to last three days, but we sold through all of it on the first day. We started cooking again that same night.”
Gaining rapid popularity across the state and country, Abdul-Kafi’s restaurant is on track to hit Rs 37.8 crore ($4 million) in revenue this year.
“Last year, we generated just under Rs (21.7 crore) $2.3 million in revenue, and we’re projected to reach up to (Rs 37.8 crore) $4 million this year. That said, I still haven’t paid myself a single dollar since opening and have been living off of my savings,” he said.
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High Cost Of Running
Despite the restaurant’s meteoric rise, Abdul-Kafi is cautiously optimistic about the future. He pointed out that the venture might have turned profitable, but they still had not paid off the initial investment, which cost around $1 million.
Abdul-Kafi highlighted the high cost of running the restaurant, noting that monthly expenses exceed $215,000. This includes $125,000 for food, $50,000 for labour, and $15,000 for rent, alongside thousands more spent on marketing and miscellaneous activities.
