Uzbek chain the Burger by Havakand opens in Baku with free offer to racing drivers

The Uzbek fast casual chain the Burger by Havakand has opened its first outlet in the Caucasus, in Baku, and is offering free burgers to racing drivers.

A banner at the entrance to the restaurant at 3 Zarifa Aliyeva Street in Baku is addressed to the drivers and reads: "We are waiting for you, the burgers are on us!"

First on the list of those invited is Lewis Hamilton, described as the world's best-known and most decorated racer.

The chain had earlier entered the market of Kazakhstan. Baku became its first point on the map of the Caucasus region.

"We prepared the expansion into Baku for almost a year and spent a long time analyzing the market," general manager Bahodir Ergashev said. "This is an important starting point, we want to expand the geography of Uzbek brands gradually, and we are coming in, surprisingly, not with plov."

"It is a challenge, but the product is so good that the buzz around it took shape while the place was still being built: an average of more than 100 people a day were coming in for burgers, people from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan who already know our chain. I think we hit the target," he said.

Ergashev said the brand had moved beyond Uzbekistan without a franchise, a rare case for the country's restaurant market.

Whether any of the drivers will take up the offer is not known.