Hospitality business is really big in Lagos as residents here love to unwind, especially after the day’s hustle and bustle in the commercial city. In almost every nook and cranny of Lagos, you will find bars where people sit to drink and unwind.
These pubs are usually found in busy areas of the city. The reason for that is to attract as many customers as possible. They are on the roadsides where anyone could easily spot them.
However, there is a new trend, which may be the future of hospitality business. Residents are beginning to convert some parts of their houses into relaxation spots in order to make ends meet. Do you blame them? No way! The reason is obvious. If the going gets tough, the tough gets going. That’s the lesson in business.
Unlike the restaurants and bars in crowded areas, these pubs are established in residential areas mainly by landlords.
The Next Edition visited a few of these places on the mainland. At Ogundana-Ajayi Street, Allen Avenue, there is a bar called Distraction. The owner who is famously known as Bobo said as the name implies, “it is to distract you from your worries. Not negative distraction but positive one. For instance, if you are watching a football match between big teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona, as a football fan you will get distracted in a good way,” he said.
Asked if he is the landlord, he said, “No, I am not the landlord. I am a tenant here. I rent this place. I pay my dues regularly.
“Whenever the landlord or neighbours complain about the music being too loud, we reduce the volume. So far, no one has complained about this place since we started.
“This place is for gentlemen. What separates it from the regular bars is the uniqueness. It looks like a lounge but it isn’t. It is a bar designed with African arts. If it were to be a lounge, it would have set it up better than this,” Bobo said.
Wale Akintunde, a landlord, who inherited his house from his late father lives at Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja, Lagos, and makes use of his compound for the business. He sells alcoholic and soft drinks to customers. Right outside the house, you are greeted with the aroma of Suya. The Suya man was hired by Akintunde to attract more customers to the spot as they say, ‘suya goes hand in hand with beer.’
Speaking to The Next Edition, he said “I used to sell drinks alone but I discovered that people walk far away from my bar to go and buy Suya, so I decided to get someone who would help me make it just to satisfy my customers. The comfort of our customers here is our satisfaction.”
He continued, “I have been running this business for 10 years and I am not ready to quit anytime soon. This business is what puts food on the table for me and my family. It is from this business that I pay my children’s school fees and take care of other bills. This is my life right here.. I am comfortable doing this business because I am at home. My wife and kids see me all the time. That is one of the advantages of making money at home.. You wouldn’t look like a stranger to your kids.”
When asked about the negative influence the bar may have on his kids, he said, “My children don’t come to the bar. I make sure that I go in from time to time to check on them. Whatever they need is in the house, so they have no business at the bar. The issue of negative influence on them cannot even arise because I take pre-cautionary measures.”
Wike Ejiro who prefers to relax in the comfort of his living room said he now hangs outside in these new bars because it makes him feel at home, “It is home away from home. I love to relax in my house, so these type of places make me feel like I am in my parlour. I come here to relax every weekend because that’s when they play most of the football matches. I don’t like staying at home to watch the matches and at the same time I don’t like regular bars. This for me is home away from home,” he said while sipping his chilled beer.
However, this business like many other businesses is more conducive for the land owners. Ebube Epunem, was doing this business as a tenant at Aguda in Surulere, Lagos, but stopped as a result of the problems it caused between him and his landlord.
“When I started, all was well. I was paying my house rent as at when due. There were no problems initially. My landlord increased my house rent when he saw that the number of people that usually came to my bar had increased. He then said that my place was a negative influence on his children and that I should stop it. I had to move to my own place, which is no longer a residential area. If you have your own house, no one would tell you what to do with it,” he said.
