For decades, one of Orpington’s most valued kebab shops has never failed to produce scrumptious, sweet-smelling, savoury sustenance.

 

Its prominent position at the end of the High Street has attracted ravenous stomachs far and wide. Statistics have shown that 66% of its customers are night-shift workers, and 74% of all customers live within 30 minutes of the shop. ‘Every minute is busy,’ one worker states,'but we always give our 100% concentration and effort’. It is this determination, he says, that demarcates them as the #2 best fast food shop in Orpington.

 

This progressive prowess was unfortunately halted as the new Covid-19 virus swept across the entire world to reshape the new routines of people everywhere. As the government issued a lockdown to reduce the spread of the virus, many restaurants, local shops and businesses like The Best Kebab Ye were severely affected as they couldn’t reach out to the public in the huge numbers they successfully did before. Inflation began rising to 4.2% as business owners tried to regain lost money. Menus were shortened to reduce resource expenditures. The duration of shops drastically decreased. The manager was extremely distraught at the situation posed by the coronavirus pandemic. ‘Our sales had dropped by 83% in the first 9 months after the lockdown and for certain periods in the week we were forced to close. Not enough money was being generated and this not only affected the future of the business but added strife to the workers’ personal lives.’

 

Almost 2 years on from the lockdown, The Best Kebab Ye are slowly rising to their esteemed standard by introducing a mobile service that people could use to pre order food before arrival. With the introduction of functional vaccinations to reduce the chance of another lockdown, the manager believes that the glass is half full. There are plans to input new dishes into the menu, especially halal dishes, to appeal to a wider audience and expand into a fully fledged restaurant or buffet house ‘but this all depends on how the days keep coming.’another worker explains.’If we can eradicate the spiking cases of Covid and return back to normal again, then the future of The Best Kebab Ye will shine bright.’