(Seychelles News Agency) - It's hard to know what's more exciting: The arrival of a Lebanese restaurant -- or the fact that they deliver.

Residents on Mahe, the main island of Seychelles, now can order a taste of Lebanese from a newly established local company specialising in shawarma dishes.

The House of Shawarma introduced food delivery services earlier this year free of charge when customers order $19 or more worth of food from any location on Mahe.

The idea came from Lebanese businessman Daniel Farra, co-owner of the House of Shawarma, with Seychellois entrepreneur of the year 2015 Gregory Albert.

“I think that it (food delivery) is something that will work because wherever you are whether at the beach or the office, you don’t want to go out, or you don’t feel like getting up, you can just call, and we will deliver to your doorstep, wherever you are on Mahe,” Farra told SNA.

Lebanese businessman Daniel Farra has partnered with Seychellois businessman Gregory Albert to introduce shawarma dishes that can be delivered to customers. (Joe Laurence, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

Market research done by the company showed that there was a great demand for food delivery services in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, especially on Mahe, the main island.

“Living abroad you know anytime, seven days a week, 24 hours-a-day, you can just pick up the phone and dial and order. After doing some research on the market here we found out that there was no food delivery in Seychelles,” says Farra.

Farra added that the company wanted to bring something new and fresh to the Seychelles market for both locals and visitors hence the shawarma, which is an Arab way of grilling mixed meat on a rotating rod for as long as a day.

The Lebanese businessman has roots in both the Arabic and Seychellois cultures. His father is from Lebanon and his mother is from Seychelles.

The House of Shawarma is a mobile business and the owners have plans to expand in the future including to introduce a Lebanese restaurant and 24 hour food delivery service. (Joe Laurence, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

House of Sharma is currently operating out of a mobile truck in the parking lot of the Tequila Boom discotheque and La Faya Bar at Beau-Bel in the northern district of Bel Ombre.

Farra says: ‘We already have some culture followers who started eventually from Tequila Boom and La Faya. When people finish clubbing, they go right outside, and we have varieties, not only shawarma but all kinds of burgers. This is how it started and is getting better and better.”

He says that his origin has prompted him to bring the Shawarma dish on the local market so that the Seychellois people can experience the real taste of Arabian food within their culture with a particular emphasis on the standard.

“This is why before its opening, House of Shawarma brought in a Lebanese and Egyptian shawarma chef to train the staff on how to prepare properly the meat and everything else to give it a unique taste,”’ says Farra.

The company employs six Seychellois workers and this includes two full-time scooter riders who do the deliveries. Operating hours are from noon to 8 pm Monday through Thursday. On Fridays and Saturdays when the club and bar are open the House of Shawarma operates from 6 pm to 5 am.

Aside of the Shawarma dish the food outlet also makes the usual fast foods like burgers and fries. (Joe Laurence, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

The management of the House of Sharwama has big plans for the future, including a Lebanese restaurant that offers authentic Arabian food, a 24-hour food delivery services, a branch on another island and a platform where customers can order online.

Since the House of Shawarma is a mobile business, the company says they will also be selling food during national events such as the upcoming Carnaval International de Victoria on April 22-24.