Two new gourmet fast food venues – offering ‘mouth-watering’ burgers and chicken – are opening in Northampton

Two new gourmet fast food venues, offering “mouth-watering” burgers and chicken products, are opening in Northampton this week.

Friends and business partners Jabran Mehmood and Jahangir Alom are the owners of both businesses, opening next to one another in Wilks Walk, Grange Park on Friday (March 1).

Zizou Express was the first of their two businesses to open in 2019, with its first store in Wellingborough. It specialises in gourmet burgers and desserts and already has stores in Northampton, Daventry and Kettering too.

Zingers, which opened three years later in 2022, specialises in fried and grilled chicken and has two existing stores – in Daventry and Rushden.

They hope the convenience of having both branches next door to each other in Grange Park will prove popular among new and existing customers.

“My first business was Zizou Lounge, launched in 2016,” said Jabran. “It was a fully fledged restaurant and the food side took off. That’s where Zizou Express was born.”

Having set Zizou Express up ahead of the pandemic in 2019, Jabran says that time gave them an “extra boost” as many people had more disposable income to spend on food. Their venture grew from there.

The introduction of Zingers in 2022 came along when the property next door to Zizou Express in Daventry became available and sat empty for six months.

Though the pair considered expanding Zizou Express, they decided to launch Zingers as there was no fried chicken takeaway in Daventry and they wanted to fill the gap in the market.

The opening of both venues in Grange Park follows eight months of refurbishment, in which time the team has split one big unit to house them both.

The Zizou Express flagship store in Wellingborough Road already delivers to five Northampton postcodes.

“It’s awfully busy and it takes the pressure off them by opening a new store in Grange Park,” said Jabran. “We can reach more customers in Northampton, in Hackleton, Roade village, Collingtree and the far bits of Grange Park.

“We want to be accessible to everyone in Northampton and after this opening there won’t be a single place in Northamptonshire that we don’t deliver to.”

When asked what makes Zizou Express and Zingers different from existing fast food businesses across the county, Jabran said: “Our key point is everything is made to order. Nothing is frozen apart from our fries. Everything is made on the day fresh to order and that’s what sets us apart.”

The business co-owner believes it is their “consistency” that customers like most, which keeps them coming back for more.

“If you go to any of the stores, you always get the same taste,” Jabran added. “We’re really working towards making every bite consistent, no matter where you take it from.

“We have a wide ranging menu and make sure we’re keeping up with the market. We’re not stuck in an old menu, we keep updating it.”

Both venues will offer eat in, collection and delivery options. They will be open six days a week, excluding Tuesday, from 12pm until 11pm.

For the first three days, the new Zizou Express and Zingers in Grange Park will offer 50 percent off to all customers.

Visit Zizou Express’ Facebook page here for more information.