Mayweather knocked out by Archie’s ‘best-ever burger’

Four brothers are aiming to open a diner in Las Vegas in the next year with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather after he visited their British restaurant.

The Rafiq family are in talks with the fighter’s team about launching a branch of Archie’s in the US state after he created his own burger and milkshake at the Manchester eatery.

Irfan and brothers Asim, Amer and Imran have opened three branches in England which are popular with celebrities including boxer Amir Khan and footballers Mario Balotelli and Jessie Lingard.

The family, whose late father ran newsagents and takeaways, are set to live the American dream with talks also being held with rapper The Game about taking Archie’s to Los Angeles.

Irfan, CEO of Archie’s, told Eastern Eye: “People think this concept is from America. We went there for research and it’s not there on this scale. People are bored of the one-topping burger, there is a gap in the market.

“The colours, branding, food being freshly made to order – we wanted to create something different. People take their pictures and put it on Instagram; they want to be

seen here.”

The business IT graduate added: “Negotiations with Mayweather are ongoing. He said it was the best burger he has ever had and wants it to take over America.

“Our initial plan was to go to the US in 10 years’ time. We invited Mayweather’s team when they were in Bolton for his victory tour in February.

“We had to close the store, he had 7-ft tall bodyguards with him. He had a Route 66 gourmet burger, with barbeque wings and a milkshake of Ferrero Rocher with strawberries.”

The brothers, who have six sisters, opened their first diner in Manchester in 2010 before opening a second in the city and one in Liverpool.

They are looking at opening branches in Newcastle, Leeds and London offering their menu of burgers, waffles, sundaes, and allowing customers to create their own milkshake.

Irfan, whose family recently set up the Archie’s Foundation to raise money for charities, added the brothers got the idea for the fast food business from a 1980s film.

“As kids, we watched a lot of films and saw License to Drive, (which was) about kids who steal their dad’s Cadillac to go to a fictional place called Archie’s that has burgers and girls serving them on rollerskates.

“We began with a hand car wash which we still run. We always wanted to get into the food game because of the experience from our father, who ran businesses for 20 years.

“Amer is the finance man, Imran the marketing guru. Asim is the hardest working. I do bits of everything, PR and deal with logistics,” he added.

“We declined a franchise package. We’re not interested, we want it to be perfect for our brand.”