Kreeri, July 4: Spark-In, a state-of-the-art fitness centre, was opened in Doulathpora neighbourhood of the Kreeri area of Baramulla district on Sunday.
The gym was inaugurated by the former minister and People’s Conference leader Syed Basharat Bukhari in presence of senior coach YMCA Delhi Hilal Thapa, Karate Chief Coach J&K Syed Asif Kyokshinkai, besides a number of sportspersons and other citizens of the area.
Speaking at the inaugural function, Bukhari said, “Opening a gym is the area is an excellent step, as it will help people particularly youth to train for various sports and bodybuilding as well as maintaining their fitness.”
Spark-In is the first of its kind fitness centre in the Kreeri area with state-of-the-art facilities. The gym located on Choora-Gulmarg road. It has been set up by Aqib Rasool Malik, a law graduate and fitness enthusiast.
The gym is equipped with the latest machinery like abb crunch, abb strength, roving, treadmills, smith machine, butterfly, Plain bench, Sit board double station, Air walker-air stroller, chest press outdoor Gym equipment, two-wheel LT-26, twister –outdoor Gym equipment, Leg press, for the exercise of different parts of the body.
Zero miles, a restaurant chain, opened a new outlet in Handwara. It had three outlets prior to the opening of this outlet, with each in Sopore, Bandipora, and Kupwara.
On October 3, 2022, the father of franchisee owner Adil Hussain Mir officially inaugurated their new Handwara outlet in the presence of Jibran Khan and Javed Mehru, the Zero Miles Cafe’s founders, the president of the Auqaf committee, and other local traders of Handwara. The north Kashmir reach has almost been achieved with this outlet opening.
Jibran Khan
This year, according to the business’s owner Jibran Khan, one more outlet will be opened in the Ganderbal district. Additionally, new locations will be added in Chadora, Pampore, and Sumbal the next year.
Jibran states, “We have a plan for Srinagar as well, but for now we want to focus on North and South.”
Zero Miles is becoming well-known due to its high-quality meals, appealing ambience, and friendly service.
“Our menu is very vast, we cater to almost every age group, and people prefer our restaurant for our pleasing ambience,” says Jibran.
The zero miles franchise is providing employment to many youths in the valley as well, till now almost 40 people have been given employment.
The response from the public has been overwhelming, and the Handwara store, in particular, received a lot of ‘warm reactions’.
The biggest opening in Zero Miles’ history, according to Jibran, had a throng of around 200 individuals on opening day.
Jibran Khan, an MBA graduate, is going to elaborate further on his restaurant chain.
“It is going places with the best quality food and hospitality,” says Jibran.
Address: 2nd Floor, Hayati Complex Oppositie JK Bank Main Branch Handwara
Vintage Bakery, a premium place for cookies, cakes, doughnuts, pastries, pies and other specialised baked items, was recently opened in the city.
A 32-year-old MBA graduate, Rakif Khan has established a bakery in Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar. The primary idea is to concentrate on premium bakeries, which prioritizes quality.
Rakif Khan
Rakif recalls, “In the ancient days, our elders used to say in our era, we had the best quality but now everything is artificial or deteriorated.”
“We at Vintage Bakery strove to return to that quality on a realistic basis since.”
The concept was basically laid out in 2021, but it was implemented this year only. The first retail location of the premium baked goods manufacturer Vintage Bakery, which is located close to the DAV School in Jawahar Nagar, opened on September 15, 2022. The brand’s founder and managing director, Rakif Khan, claims that the business embodies the taste of Kashmiri people who uphold quality in all areas, notably food.
“Idea wasn’t implemented last year because of certain issues regarding shifting and reassembling everything, it wasn’t feasible last year,” says Rakif Khan.
“Given that our products are consistent of a high quality, we expect a big growth in demand,” he says.
According to him, Kashmiris are ardent bakery lovers. “We restate our position to serve the second to none quality with this shop in Jawahar Nagar,” he told the reporter.
“The proportionate flavour of an edible reveals the quality raw material used in the making,” he further says.
Previously, Rakif had opened a franchise of a well-known bakery but wanted to establish his own label or brand.
In Kashmir, a bakery is one of the most consumed products, and as the quality of this industry declines, the vintage bakery steps in and claims to be one of the best.
Rakif claims, “We are a transparent bakery; one may come and see how we operate and what ingredients we use.”
Vintage Bakery
The vintage bakery has also been a step toward employment as a newly opened location, they have so far hired 4-5 staff members. Also, apart from employees an executive bakery chef, head bakery chef, junior bakery chef, outlet manager, social media manager, and driver make up the Vintage bakery workforce.
The concept behind the term vintage is connected to people’s past recollections from a time when the bakery was free of contaminated goods. The name vintage is tied to old school.
“I cherish the old-time quality, love, purity, and everything because I’m an old-school person,” adds Rakif.
With a purely vintage theme, Vintage Bakery will develop this brand further. Since the bakery is still new, the proprietor is currently primarily concentrating on this outlet.
Among other eateries, the bakery creates bespoke theme cakes for weddings.
Rakif states, “We are so certain and comfortable with our quality that we can easily carry it for our parents and children without fearing the adulterated food.”
The vintage bakery is accessible online and provides home delivery. The bakery operates in the centre of the city with a team of dedicated employees. Customers in Srinagar would be able to rely on the bakery to meet their regular bakery demands.
Bakery is a good startup with a lot of potentials.
Rakif asserts that “Kashmir has traditionally been a centre for bakeries and people here value bakeries.”
Young businesspeople, in Rakif’s opinion, should always be prepared to take the first step, should not be frightened to do so, and should work diligently to carry out the plan without rushing.