Your Neighbourhood Friends with Buns

Everyone craves for the perfect burger. The perfect burger is a feat of architecture. It’s built in the same way Fort Aguada was, piece by piece and with great thought and technical consideration. The only difference is that anyone can cook up the perfect burger if they actually are passionate about food. A great burger is not about a fancy bun or a thick patty. It’s about achieving the ideal proportion of juicy, crunchy, tangy, sweet, and spicy flavors, wrapped in a soft toasted bun. Sounds mouth-watering, doesn’t it?

If you are looking for that mouth-watering experience in Goa, then look no further than ‘Friends with Buns’. What’s special about their burgers? Their one of a kind burgers promises an explosion of flavour in every bite. The burgers do not have the usual flavour profile that you taste from the beginning to the end. You will be guaranteed that in every bite, you will have something new: a new dimension of flavour that gives the burger its character.

At Goan Insider, we sat down with the mastermind behind the burgers, Tristan Lopes. He is the founder of ‘Friends with Buns’ and is a people’s person who can get along with anyone. This trait makes him a favorite among his customers. He is a huge food fanatic. When he travels, he makes it a point to try as much of the regional food as he can. This mindset to try out different cuisines has helped him have an easy-going attitude towards his content of “Friends with Buns”. To know more about his journey, read the excerpts of our conversation below.

Tell us a little about yourself

I’m a happy soul! I always appreciate the greener side of life no matter what hardships I face. I have always been a dreamer and I’m pretty ambitious. After I graduated and just jumped into the grind, I thought  to myself, “How hard can this be?” But as the years passed by, I learned that it takes more than just being ambitious to make yourself a success. I look at all my failures not as something to regret, but as learning experiences that teach me what not to do in order to succeed. I was raised by a family that always taught me the value of hard work and I couldn’t be more grateful for that. 

I’ve also been a sportsperson all my life. I’ve represented Goa at 5 National Basketball Championships and also won over 10 state gold medals. I have also represented Goa at national level karate tournaments.

What got you interested in cooking?

I remember as a kid, my grandmother always called me over to have some soup, and I loved soup. When I was about 6 or 7 years old, I told my grandmother that I’d like to try my hand at making soup. She offered to help. But I insisted on doing it by myself as I watched her do it a hundred times. I started with the soup and I failed at it. I was disappointed but I made a quick decision to 86’ing it. I picked up a Maggi Noodle tastemaker, boiled it in some water, added some egg, spinach, and pasta to prepare a soup that wasn’t even close to what my grandmother prepared, but it sure tasted great!

They were very happy with what I made, although it was nothing complex. Their feedback made me want to continue trying my hand at cooking. I enjoy the alchemy behind it. Once you understand the science behind every ingredient and the flavor profile of an ingredient, it’s just creative fun from there.

When and why did you start Friends with Buns? What is the inspiration behind the name?  

I’ve always dreamt of owning my own chain of restaurants. And even before I started out with my hospitality degree, I planned on opening up a small restaurant. So once I got done with my degree and internships, I worked at a few restaurants to gain some more experience. Finally, I thought it was time to start off with something small that I could build from the ground up.

My specialty is American Continental. In Goa, the age group I would be catering to mostly would be between 16-40 years. I decided to call it FWB initially so as to make it easier for the name to catch on since FWB is an abbreviation that is well known by the youth. So I called it Friends With Buns to make it less obvious.

What were you doing before you started this venture? 

I’ve always had the restaurant plan going on, but when I got into the science stream I was a little skeptical on pursuing a degree in engineering. I cleared my JEE entrance exams and did quite well actually. I qualified to get into NIT, but I made the decision to drop that and follow my dreams. After completing my Hotel Management course, I worked as a sales executive for about a year. Then I started off with ‘Friends With Buns’ and got into the Villa Rental business. This worked really well until Goa was struck by the depression in tourism. I then joined a company called PPL where I worked as a music licensing executive. This was not related to the hospitality industry directly, but we catered to the top hotels in Goa and that helped me meet big players in the hotel industry.

What makes your burgers unique from others available in Goa?

I have always been a huge fan of burgers. I’ve tried almost all the burger joints that are well known in Goa. And whenever I travel, I make it a point to include at least one burger joint on my vacation bucket list. I’ve tried tons of burgers but most of them seemed to have the same flavour concept, which is ‘one dimensional’ in flavour. This means that when you take the first bite, you do taste the patty and the sauces, but as you dig in, you taste the same thing from the beginning to the end. 

So before the launch of FWB, I decided to make my own version of what I thought was the perfect burger. Unlike most burger joints in Goa who offer 3-4 components in a burger, my burgers consist of 10 components! Hence, in every bite, you taste something new. As you dig into the burger you taste the sourness and sweetness of the pickles, the tang and cream from our Special Tangy Mayo, the cheese and richness from the Cheddar cheese sauce and the mozzarella cheese over the patty, the freshness of the iceberg lettuce, and tomatoes, and the heat from the Hotstuff (hot sauce). We have a secret ingredient used in our burger that neutralizes the heat once you’re done eating to give you an earthy, sweet after taste. Our patty is perfectly seasoned to bring all the components together.

I created the burger in a way where there’s an explosion of flavour in every bite. There’s a surprise, there’s excitement, there’s sex appeal. It’s what I consider to be one of the best dishes I’ve created ever since I started off with my cooking. And all of this at just 200 bucks a burger for a DIY pack and 250 for a premade burger.

What is your definition of a perfect burger?

The perfect burger should have an explosion of flavour in every bite. Every bite should have a new dimension of flavour that gives the burger its character.

What are the different varieties of burgers you serve? Which one would you recommend the most?

I currently have just a few items on my menu. I have ‘The Joey’, which is our bestseller. It’s a beef burger that comes with lettuce, tomatoes, smoked apple cider pickled zucchini, a heavy 130g beef patty fried with mozzarella cheese over it. It’s topped with cheddar cheese sauce, our signature “Hotstuff” which is a super yum hot sauce, a tangy mayo that has a hint of garlic, and finally the buns to hold it all together.

‘The Sheila’ is our chicken burger that comes with the lettuce, tomatoes, caramelized onions, 130g chicken patty with mozzarella cheese, a bbq sauce, the Hotstuff, and our Tangy mayo. We also switch it up with the chicken and beef where we make a bbq beef (the beef patty instead of chicken in the Sheila)

Our latest addition to our menu is ‘The Gunther’. This is a pork burger that’s been winning hearts since day 1. The Gunther consists of a pork patty (70% pork mince and 30% bacon mince). It also has the regular lettuce tomatoes, smoked apple cider pickled zucchini, mozzarella cheese over the patty, a cheddar cheese sauce, a hint of bbq sauce, the Hotstuff, and tangy mayo. Finally, we add bacon to the top to give it that depth and richness.

I would say that all the burgers are loved equally, but since ‘The Joey’ was my first creation, that’s my personal favourite. 

How has the response been from Goans and other customers towards your food?

Honestly, the response has been incredible! The reason why I relaunched ‘Friends with Buns’ is that ever since I shut it down 3 years ago, I received calls almost every week from old customers asking me when I plan on reopening. Once the pandemic hit us, I found myself lazing around and doing nothing. I thought about relaunching FWB, but I wasn’t too sure if it was the right time yet since everyone has been very careful about not contracting the virus. But I still received requests from friends, family, and my old customers to consider it. So I came up with the DIY pack concept where customers could be sure of their safety by prepping it themselves.

Initially, I was a little skeptical about how the response would be towards this, but I was shocked! It was overwhelming. In the first week, I received over 100 orders. And these were all my regulars that were eagerly waiting to order from us after I made an announcement about the relaunch of ‘Friends With Buns’. It was a very emotional and overwhelming week and I couldn’t be happier. I was proud to announce that I have never failed to impress my customers with the food I dish out.

How do you advertise your business?

It’s mostly ‘word of mouth’ and I also use social media platforms like Instagram to market my product. I do not use paid promotions; not yet at least. I believe that even with minimal expenditure if your product is right, your food can take you places. Besides that, I have my friends and family who are always helpful and speak of my brand to help me get to their crowd. Not to mention my customers! They play a huge role in marketing my products as well by posting about the burgers and also reviewing them on social media.

Which have been your most memorable moments in business?

I think the response I received from my customers in the first week of reopening business was memorable. They showed me how much they believed in my food and in ‘Friends With Buns’. It gave me a new level of confidence and I couldn’t be more thankful.

As an entrepreneur, what are you paranoid about? What keeps you awake at night?

Honestly, I believe that if you’re hustling enough, you deserve a good night’s sleep. So my sleep isn’t affected at all, haha! In fact, I wish I could make room for some more sleep. I’m a spiritual person, and up until a few years ago, I always prayed for success. When I faced failure, I would curse my luck. So one day at church I learned that luck can only help you so much. The real mantra to success is that you give it your 100% and that would make up for 80% of your chance to achieve your dreams. Only then can you leave the rest up to luck. So this is something that I follow personally and has allowed me to sleep well at night.

What is your secret ingredient to goodness?

I guess it’s how passionate I am about what I do. I love it! I don’t consider myself a “know it all”, but I sure try learning it all. When I create something new, I long for feedback from my customers. When I know that they loved it, and most of them just go crazy with the reviews, that’s what keeps me going and motivates me to do better.

Name 3 essential ingredients in a burger that you can’t live without

1. I need a well-seasoned patty, that’s juicy and heavy!
2. Sauces! I need my burgers sauced up with different sauces, yet maintaining the flavour of the meat. Each sauce should complement the other to create a beautiful blend of flavor on my palate.
3. Buns! The buns are a neglected component that most people take for granted. But I think it’s super important. Because if at all the buns break or fail to hold the components of a burger, it won’t be a burger anymore. You’d just be eating a messy salad.

What would be your favorite burger topping?

Bacon! Absolutely!

What were some of the struggles you faced when starting out and how did you overcome them?

The first time I launched ‘Friends with Buns’, I did not have a lot of funds to set up a full-fledged restaurant. So I took a small loan from my parents to buy a tiny 6×6 ft. stall and some equipment and rented a small area at Delfinos, Porvorim. The response I got was fabulous! However, due to some technicalities, I had to switch areas and move to the back where my stall wasn’t noticed as well as before. 

Sales got affected a little bit, and it felt a little unrewarding for the effort I put in. I then decided to move to my villa rentals job until I was ready financially to start off with a full fledged restaurant. But at present, I guess I take advantage of the fact that people prefer eating from the comfort and safety of their homes. However, a lot of opportunities lie ahead for ‘Friends With Buns’ and we cannot wait to have an end to this pandemic to begin the next level of our brand.

Name 3 fun facts about you that people don’t know about

• I’m an adrenaline junkie. I love adventure sports. And regular sports. Anything that gets the adrenaline boost going.
• I learned to dance and play the Cajon all by myself. It just came naturally and I’ve been told that I’m pretty good at it.
• I am an animal enthusiast. I love all animals, and I could go out of my way to help. My dog Thomus is a good example. He is a stray that met with an accident and now he’s everyone’s favorite dog.

How can our readers stay connected with you as well as your brand?

I have my Instagram account and a Facebook page, both called ‘Friends With Buns’. You can follow us and keep yourself updated with all our posts. Also, stay tuned for our ‘Huge Giveaway competition’, where we are giving everyone a shot at winning a year’s supply of burgers.

Could you take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work till you hit the sack?

Oh wow! My day is a wild hustle. I prefer to work alone in order to maintain safety standards for my customers. Hence, I do all the prep alone and then set out on my deliveries. So I wake up at 8 am and prepare my mis-en. I then begin with my order prep by 11 am and set out to deliver them by 12 pm in the afternoon.

I get back home by 2 pm and take a break till 4 pm. At that time I update my posts on social media to keep the crowd engaged. I then get back to my prep at 4 pm and set out with the next half of the deliveries by 6 pm. I get back home by 8:30 pm and then spend an hour working on a new post for social media. After that, I have dinner with my family by 10 pm, and finally, talk to friends over call or text and catch up with them for an hour before I hit the sack by 12 pm. 

What’s next for Friends with Buns? 

Well, all I can say for now is that the future is big and it only can go up from here.

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