The Big Fish is a popular restaurant in Nairobi that has been making headlines for all the right reasons. Interestingly, the restaurant started off as a small kibanda joint situated in Roasters and it only took one photo posted on twitter for things to take a huge turn. In this article, WoK brings you the story of how the proprietor Osumo Brad transformed the restaurant from a Kibanda to attracting big names like Rt. Hon Raila Odinga, Martha Karua and other key leaders for lunch.
Establishing The Big Fish Restaurant
During an exclusive interview with Comedian Felix Odiwuor that aired on Jalango TV, Osumo revealed that he started the journey of selling fish back in 2018.
“I had just graduated from Kenyatta University with a Biochemistry degree in 2016. After nilimaliza shule kazi sikupata hii Nairobi. My sister was selling fish along the road in the evenings and so I decided to help her out with deliveries. Alafu nikamwambia instead ya kuuza kando samaki kando ya barabara, tufungue kibanda mahali tutapikia watu wakule samaki instead ya take away only. Na hivo ndio Big Fish ilianza, ilianza tu na meza mbili na viti kumi in roasters in 2018,” he explained.
Also Read: Top Ten Best Fish Joints In Nairobi
The Big Break and Success.
After operating the small joint for almost two years, the big break finally came in 2020 during the pandemic. Everyone was at home and spending most time on their phones and so one day Osumo took a picture of a well prepared ugali and fish which he posted on his twitter account. The tweet would later go viral with hundreds of people placing orders.
“Siku moja in 2020, niliweka tweet nikasema mimi ni fishmonger mkuje mkule samaki. Niliweka picha ya ugali na samaki na kitu ilinisaidia ilikua saa saba hivi na watu walikua njaa. Sikuexpect engagements on the tweet coz at the time nilikua na around 300 followers na ukiwa na less than 1,000 followers on twitter ni kama unajiongelesha. The tweet ilipata over 7,000 likes na 3,500 retweets na hundreds of orders,” he said.
The joint would later receive a lot of clients and orders prompting him to expand the joint to 20 chairs and 10 tables. The business became good and they had to open a restaurant in Roaster. In 2021, he decided to open the second branch in Westlands along Church Road to target the working class Kenyans. He currently employs over 45 people in the two restaurants and does delivery around Nairobi.
Also Read: Hagon Restaurant: Where Fish Is Ever Fresh
Hosting Raila Odinga, Martha Karua and other key leaders
On Monday 16th May 2022 after the former prime minister Raila Odinga attended an event at Kenyatta International Conference Center (KICC) where he named Martha Karua as his running mate, the duo were spotted at the Big Fish Restaurant in Westlands in the afternoon enjoying brown ugali, fish and a side of vegetables. Osumo Brad couldn’t contain his joy and took to twitter to write;
“On this historic day, Big Fish served Baba and Martha Karua and I can’t keep calm!” the tweet read.
Other key leaders present at the lunch were Azimio spokesperson Prof. Makau Mutua, Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho, Suna East Member of Parliament Junet Mohammed, Azimio Executive Director Raphael Tuju and Royal Media Services owner and Chairman Dr. S. K Macharia.
