This is the story of Bijal Dave, who lives in Vadodara, Gujarat. Bijal is running his own pizza outlet Gusto’s Pizzeria in the city. Where he serves more than 40 types of pizza to the customers. His outlet is famous for Italian Pizza. The special thing about their pizza outlet is that you will get the taste of authentic Italy style pizza here. Because Bijal has learned to make pizza from Italy. For many years, Bijal used to cook pizza in a restaurant in Congo.
Speaking to The Better India, Bijal said, “I went to Kenya with a friend in 1992. I have done diploma in computer so thought I will get some good job outside. But even there we had to face pushes and did not get any job in our field. But now I had to survive. So I started a job in a hotel.”
Earlier in the hotel, Bijal did small jobs like washing dishes, cleaning tables etc. But whatever work he used to do with all his heart, he got a job in the front office of the hotel within a few months. In the front office, Bijal started meeting customers. He said, “Once a customer asked me if I could work at his hotel in Congo? I got ready and went to Congo. There I also got a chance to work in the kitchen. They also had a pizzeria and I got interested there.”
Bijal learned to make pizza in Congo. He says that within a few days the hotel owner was convinced that he could master pizza making. “So they sent me specifically to Italy to learn how to make pizza,” he said.
Till the year 2018, Bijal worked only in Congo. Over the years, he also got a partnership in that hotel. So whatever he earned, he used to send some to his home and some to invest back in the business. “But there is a lot of riots in Congo and in 2018 there was one such riotous attack and our hotel got burnt in it. I didn’t even have much to save. So I returned to my homeland,” he says.
starting from zero
After losing everything, it was difficult to stand up again but it was not impossible. With the support of his family, Bijal is determined to make a new beginning in his country, his city. But the question was what to do? He said, “Whenever I was thinking what to do, only pizza came to mind. Because I had learned to make pizza and I was sure that I can achieve success in this work. That’s why I started ‘Gusto’s Pizzeria’ from my home in 2019. For a few months, I ran it like a cloud kitchen. People used to order online and I used to make and deliver pizzas from home.”
But the road was not that easy. Sometimes they didn’t even get orders for several days. His finished goods used to be wasted. But he did not give up as he had full faith in the taste and quality of the pizzas he made. He was sincerely engaged and gradually his clientele started increasing. He didn’t do any marketing for himself, but whoever ate his pizza, used to ask others to try it. It was his customers who publicized him and after the lockdown, he even set up a small outlet in the premises of his house.
“I set up four-five tables on the campus itself and hired two people. Slowly the customers started increasing and the space started falling short. Sometimes people had to stand for the table. So I decided to shift to a bigger place. At present, the outlet we have is in a big place and our outlet is open from 3 pm till night. Weekends are more crowded than other days,” he said.
Employment given to eight people
Bijal says that at present he has given employment to eight people. He teaches all these people everything from making pizza to running an outlet. He says, “I teach all my employees how to make pizza so that the work goes on even if I am never at the outlet. In addition, we use the best quality raw material. Our entire focus remains on the quality and taste of our pizzas. A customer who visits us once will definitely come again.”
One of his customers, Vijesh Shah, says, “If you want an authentic Italy experience, then Gusto’s Pizza is a must try. Here people will get a chance to try many varieties and tastes in pizza. You have hardly tried the pizza found here before anywhere else in Vadodara.
Bijal started his business with an investment of around Rs 1 lakh. Today he is earning up to four lakh rupees every month. Regarding the franchise of his pizzeria, he says that he may give his own franchise in the coming time. But he will give the franchise to the same person who wants to do this work by learning to make pizza himself. “Many people just invest money and leave the outlet to others. But I just can’t work with people who want to make money. I want anyone who moves up my chain to have this skill as well so that we can take the authentic test forward,” he says.
For today’s youth, Bijal gives only this message that it is more important to run after skill and passion than running after money. If you learn to do any work with all your heart and work hard, you will earn a lot of money yourself. But if the skill is not there then the work will not be done. One of his skills never let him lose even after losing everything. That’s why he advises everyone to work hard on their skills.
If you want to get in touch with Bijal, you can join his Instagram account @pizzeriagustos.
Editing – G N Jha
Also read: Nilon’s: The Story of Two Brothers Who Started by Turning a Dining Table into a Lab
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