First look inside Kumpi in Bournemouth town centre

Kumpi promises ‘next-level baked potatoes’ and it really does deliver, with endless combinations of toppings to choose from including halloumi, crispy chicken and chorizo.

Owners Onur Guvenc and Ozan Kulaksiz first met 12 years ago when working part-time jobs while studying at Bournemouth University and have lived in the town ever since.

'Next-level baked potatoes'

Vowing to start a business together the pair opened their design management company, Design Agency Red White CA, in 2010 and have now branched into hospitality.

Both originally from Turkey, the duo were inspired by a traditional Turkish take on the baked potato - Kumpir.

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Onur said: “We want to create consistency so that our customers know what to expect every time they eat with us - that way it can become a sort of comfort food.

“Potato is something that everyone likes and with different toppings it can be very powerful, on the surface it seems like a simple food.”

Ozan added: “We knew what we wanted before we started - we wanted the Kumpi to have crispy skin, very indulgent creamy mash and we looked at how we could make the presentation punchy.”

Inside Kumpi

'Oomph'

Kumpi opened as a ‘cloud kitchen’ during lockdown 2020, operating on delivery services through a kitchen in the town centre.

With hundreds of five star reviews already Onur said: “Seeing the reviews just makes our day and when you see everything that people are writing it just gives us that ‘oomph’ and encourages us.”

Ozan said: “We had the potato idea for five years and with the pandemic we just thought it was time for us to try it.

“The opportunity came up, there was a kitchen to rent and we’d had this idea for ages and the time was right.

With a background in branding, marketing and design the duo believe that you “eat with your eyes first” and promise Kumpi excites the senses from the moment you walk into the Old Christchurch Road restaurant.

Onur and Ozan

With bold colours, exciting visuals and stand-out illustrations, including a cartoon of the Queen delighting over the “heavenly” potatoes, the restaurateurs have big plans up their sleeve.

Ozan said:

“We are very passionate and we are trying our best to produce something different, unique and tasty.

“We would like to make it as a national brand - that’s our aim - so this is the first shop and we’ve put our soul into it.”

Built for longevity the restaurant opened on December 21, 2021 and since then has been approached by numerous franchising agents.

Onur and Ozan are hoping to open their next restaurant in or around Dorset in the next year and look to franchise the brand in the future.