No one is a fan of the smell of a doner kebab on the night bus home but on this one in Edmonton, eating a kebab is the reason you get on board.
Firat Amara decided to turn a London double-decker bus into a kebab shop at the end of last year – and now it’s about to open.
Last Stop Kebab can seat 40 customers at a time, and the onboard experience includes the original TfL moquette designs on the seats.
Firat thought up the concept in December, bought a real Transport for London double-decker bus 20 days later and then spent two months fitting it out.
Firat and two colleagues had to remove some seats, remove the engine and the back tyres to allow space for tables, chairs, a kitchen and the all-important doner kebab machine.
The gas, electricity and water needed to run the business comes from the supermarket next door that Firat part-owns.
The 41-year-old was very coy about the bus he bought in London and did not want to reveal how much he had paid for it.
‘That’s a secret,’ he chuckled.
‘It cost me a lot of money but I don’t want to say how much I spent on it.
‘I thought, everything is running on social media.
‘If I get a double decker bus then people will share it on Instagram, be interested to come and will use it as an advert.’
It’s only just opened but people are already fans of the idea – videos of the creative concept have been liked more than 450,000 times on social media and people are travelling from all over London to experience the service themselves.
Firat said: ‘That’s what we wanted and that’s what we want and deserve.
‘All day we’ve been busy and haven’t been stopped, I hope that carries on.
‘We are so happy because we did something and people are giving good appreciation.’
The bus includes seats and a kitchen where the food is made fresh by just three people.
There’s still lots of original features, including the tannoy system which is now being used to play Turkish music.
However, despite all its perks, like on all London buses, there is no toilet on-board.
There were a lot of people in the Edmonton area asking for hot food, both residents and visitors and employees of North Middlesex hospital because the nearest restaurant is a 20-minute walk away.
Firat was determined to think outside of the box and use his 25 years’ kebab experience to start something revolutionary.
He said: ‘I was always going to do it because at the end of the day what you put in is what you get back.
‘You get the fruits from the tree, now it’s the sweet time and we are enjoying the customers.
‘I love risk because when you do business, it’s a risky job, if you put in risk you get the money.
‘So far, it’s working very well, I’m so happy and they make me so excited each time.’
The kebab bus serves a combination of kebabs, fresh salads and delicious wraps to customers every day from 11 am to 3 am.
The original bus has been so successful, Firat is already thinking about buying more buses for restaurants in central London and Stratford.
MORE: Marmite the dog was saved by vets after swallowing two whole kebabs
MORE: M&S is planning to sell a doner kebab sandwich but people think it’s not posh enough
