Rehan’s unwavering determination
A MAN with a diverse set of business ideas and a determination worthy of praise, Rehan Khan has recently opened the doors to a café with a unique and commendable core idea. Those told to visit serene, soothing places like beaches, mountains, and of course gardens, for stress relief now have another more accessible location to relax at; the Garden Coffee Lounge in Raojibhai Patel St, Suva.
“I’m a garden lover, a plant lover since I was a child. Only one thing can relieve a person’s stress; it’s a garden, isn’t it? I’m becoming a doctor. So, when we talk to patients we always tell them go relieve their stress, go in nature, go in the garden and take a deep breath, go outside and take a deep breath. But everyone doesn’t have a garden. So, that is what the idea came from. I was like ‘okay, we tell patients go to a garden and take a deep breath, might as well I create a garden.’ A garden where people can come out with their family, have a good time and enjoy the meals and the environment and be stress free,” said Mr Khan.
Mr Khan initially intended to open not a restaurant but a radio station, having already established himself in the media industry in Australia.
“So basically in 2019 I applied for a radio license, applied for my affidavit for MIDA (Media Industry Development Authority). After two years I got a reply that they registered me and after that I went to ministry of communications, I submitted everything and my license was granted.
“So I went to Australia to get all my stuff and everything was done; I’d bought the building for my studio setup, plan was approved... four days before my construction starts, what happened. I got a letter from former attorney-general’s office saying that my license has been de-registered. They said we’re taking back your license because you don’t belong to Fiji and don’t comply with the rules of MIDA.”
Born in Fiji and holding dual citizenship, Mr Khan was thrown for a loop but didn’t give up on his desire to pursue business in his motherland.
“If I don’t belong to Fiji, where am I from? So I was kind of sitting down idly, doing nothing, just thinking about where to get my money back from because obviously the former government was not going to reimburse my money. So what I did, I thought of this concept and then here we are!”
Having taught at Nadi College for two years at one stage of his life, Mr Khan knew he had the expertise to run a business in a field other than media.
“Before doing MBBS I was a food science teacher. So I’m well-experienced in this, food science is where I can do another business.
“I know about medication, I know about the pharmaceutical industry but after that the other thing I know about is food,” he said.
However, the bumps in his journey were not over yet.
Running into yet another unfortunate issue, Mr Khan only became more determined when the initial location he’d put down rent for decided to go another way and he suddenly found himself without a site for his restaurant.
“I called the realtor and told her ‘I want any location today. I need it today. Can you just get any location in Suva today?’ And she said okay and said can you come and look at this place. When I entered this place, the place was totally scattered, it wasn’t like this.
“I entered this and I looked all around and I told her I’m taking it.”
The site he chose that day was once a place of memories for an entire generation; where the 99c shop once stood is now a gorgeous eatery.
With a total of $120,000 as investment and a long rough journey, the Garden Coffee Lounge is now open to the public and awaiting its official launch.
Open seven days a week from 6am to midnight the public is now welcome to enjoy the healthy food, nostalgic location, stunning yet soothing décor, and an expert foodie at the helm.