Ex-Google Techie Launches Restaurant and Nets ₹21.7 Crore Revenue
Ex-Google techie starts a restaurant after leaving ₹4.2 crore job, earns ₹21.7 crore in first year revenue, reshaping career path — read the story.
Ekta Mathew 
IRVING, Texas, June 26, 2026 — A former Google engineer who left a ₹4.2 crore annual tech salary has opened a restaurant that generated ₹21.7 crore in revenue in its first year.
Salahodeen Abdul-Kafi, 35, spent 14 years at global tech firms, including Google, Microsoft, YouTube and Cruise, before walking away from a high-paying role to pursue a different career path. He opened his halal barbecue restaurant, Kafi BBQ, in Irving, Texas, in December 2024 after hosting barbecue dinners for friends and family that proved popular. :
Career Shift Leads to Unexpected Revenue
Abdul-Kafi said he grew disillusioned with the tech industry, feeling his work focused too heavily on profit rather than meaningful impact. After relocating to Texas and taking a role with a nonprofit organisation, he experimented with barbecue cooking on the side, eventually deciding to open his own eatery. :The restaurant sold out its initial supply of barbecue on its opening day, prompting round-the-clock cooking to meet demand. It quickly drew patrons from across the state and beyond. Abdul-Kafi’s first full year in operation brought in just under ₹21.7 crore in revenue, and the restaurant is projected to reach nearly ₹37.8 crore this year.
Challenges Behind the Numbers
Despite the high revenue figures, Abdul-Kafi said he has not drawn a salary from the business and continues to live on personal savings while reinvesting in operations. He also noted the significant cost of running the restaurant, with monthly expenses, including food, labour and rent, adding substantial overhead.
The rapid growth of Kafi BBQ has made headlines as an unconventional success story, highlighting both the risks and rewards of leaving a lucrative corporate career for entrepreneurship in the food industry.
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