After months of meticulous planning, sleepless nights, and investing every penny I had, today was the grand opening of my new restaurant; a milestone was reached, and the life after the milestone was going to be different, or so I thought. “MILO’S PET FIRST.” I had envisioned I would have a bustling crowd, a line around the block waiting for their turn, and the sweet sound of clinking glasses and lively chatter, along with the healthy ring of digital payment notifications. Instead, what destiny served me was a little boy and his dog. Yep, just the two of them.
Milo’s Pet First came into existence because of my love for pets and the lack of pet friendly places. i would have wanted to work on Pet Travel– which needs many improvements– but that was a lot more complicated and needed working with many variables. so came Milo’s pet First.
As the clock struck Seven, the official opening time, I peeked out from the kitchen window, expecting to see a sea of eager foodies. But there they were: Rohit, my neighbour’s teenage kid, and his charming Beagle Mist. Rahul waved enthusiastically, holding a crumpled 100 rupee note while Misty sniffed around, seemingly unimpressed by the ambience I had worked so hard to create.
My heart sank faster than the time it took for the new tech cars to hit 100. Was this it? All my dreams of glory and excitement would be reduced to serving chicken nuggets to a sixteen-year-old and his pet. For a moment, I did consider closing the shop. But then, I took a deep breath and reminded myself: this is not the end of the world. Maybe, just maybe, it’s the beginning of something better. And I did think of all the wisdom I have read in the self-help book, including the latest- ‘25 Rules of Life- I Wish I Had Known Earlier- by someone named Sanjeev Kotnala’.
Rahul walked up to the counter, his face lighting up as he scanned the menu. “Do you have Chicken Nuggets?” he asked, eyes wide with excitement. Misty barked as if seconding the request. I couldn’t help but smile. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you can’t always predict what will happen. Sometimes, you have to roll with it. The past is over; what you can do is write the next chapter. Another from- 25 rules of life.
I whipped up a batch of the well-done nuggets and served them with an ample dose of the best tomato sauce in the city. As I set the dish in front of Rahul, who dug in with gusto, and even Misty seemed to appreciate the scraps that fell to the floor. I would have asked Rahul to be careful, but then opening a pet-friendly food joint was my decision, and this much was acceptable.
As I watched them enjoy their meal, a thought struck me: they were my first customer, and Rahul’s delight was genuinely visible in his face, as was how he finally licked his fingers. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Making people happy, one plate at a time? They could make a great Instagram post, so I told the two of them to pose as I clicked. And then, from my Samsung Ultra, I immediately posted it on my Milo account, which had huge followers of pet parents, and my account with limited followers. And for the heck of it, I posted it on the LinkedIn account, too.
Rahul and Mistry playfully ate their food, first, and the cash register in ‘Milo’s pet First’ had its first entry. Three girls stopped to cuddle Misty and then stayed back for coffee and Bun. Their playful antics of getting pics with Mistry, Rahul’s banter and Misty’s happy tail wagging started to attract attention. We were after all three sides open food joint at a decent traffic cross.
People peeked in, curious about the source of evident joy. And like a magnet, one customer pulled in another. Maybe some came for the food. Maybe the giggling laughter of Rahul and the playful antics of Misty drew a few of them. Many more posts tagged my food joint and other pet parents on Instagram. Either way, it didn’t matter. The restaurant was coming to life. I saw a customer carrying the book Dog tails b Radha Thomas. It gives me an idea to add a pet themed book corner.
Soon, I had a reasonably okay night with fifty per cent occupancy. And there were enough takeaway orders from Instagram posts on Zomato and Swiggy.
NOT BAD.
Reflecting on the day, I feel ‘MILO’s PET FIRST’ opened to an unexpected but wonderful beginning. I realise it was not the grand opening I always dreamed of, but it was real and heartfelt. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow, Rahul will bring his friends and their dogs. Oh, by the way, I do plan to hang Mistry’s first dinner picture right behind the cash counter.
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