Sweet success for brothers who chose to open dessert takeaway instead of following in family's curry business footsteps

Imran Ahmed 42, and brother Rezwan Ahmed, 25, set up Crave 4 Desserts in Washington three years ago following in the footsteps of their parents who owned a successful Indian takeaway in Concord for over 25 years.

The brothers, who went to Usworth Comprehensive School, decided against following in the family’s footsteps with a curry house, and instead the sweet-toothed duo decided to open a dessert shop.

Imran, who is a father to three children, said he and his brother always wanted to set something up in Washington.

He said: “As soon as the opportunity to open a dessert shop came around, we took it by the scruff of the neck and put all our time and effort in to make it work.

“We’re really proud of ourselves and we now have a great relationship with all of our customers and we love it.”

The shop which offers a range of desserts including tower cakes and cookie dough has now been nominated in the Just Eat ‘British Take Away’ awards, making them one in five finalists across the whole of the North East.

Rezwan, who has two sons said: “We genuinely love Washington and have so many fond memories of growing up here – We’ve worked hard to build our business.”

The Washington shop remained open throughout the whole of lockdown as the shop is currently takeaway only.

The brothers believe their success is down to the excellent customer service they were taught while working at their parents Indian takeaway, as well as the huge support they have from friends and family in Washington.

Imran added: “We worked in our parents’ takeaway when we were younger and I think that’s what pushed us to want to build our own successful business.

"We have plans for the business to expand and are looking forward to what the future brings.”

The brothers say they are hoping to win the Just Eat British award after being nominated this year.

Imran said: “We’re over the moon to be nominated and hopefully we can win it – We have been nominated from thousands of businesses so it’s already a huge achievement.”

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