From a closed village café to 26,000 orders: how Burger Guy expanded with Wolt Capital

Six years ago, Andreas Tomazou stood inside his grandfather’s abandoned coffee shop in a tiny Cypriot village of just 4,000 people. He had €1,000 to his name, minimal equipment, and a head full of ideas. The odds were not in his favor.

Today, he is the owner of multiple restaurant brands, a pizza shop, a premium smash-burger concept, a mall location, six ghost kitchens, and even a food truck in Abu Dhabi. His story is a powerful example of how passion, persistence, and the right partnerships can transform a dream into a thriving business.

Rewinding to the beginning: learning every role

Long before he opened a restaurant, Andreas imagined a completely different career. At 18, he moved from Cyprus to England to play professional football. An injury ended that plan.

To stay in the UK, he worked every job the hospitality world could offer. “I washed dishes for a year. Then the pizza chef left, so I learned pizza. Then I worked as a waiter in a Mexican place, then as a chef in a burger restaurant,” he says. “I learned every position.”

After graduating, he took a coaching job in the U.S., but the reality didn’t match what he hoped for.

“I had no time, no money, and no purpose,” he says. “That’s when I realized I had to build something for myself.”

That realization pushed him back to Cyprus, looking for a fresh start.

Starting over in a quiet village

Back in Cyprus, Andreas decided to revive his grandfather’s dusty coffee shop. People thought he was crazy.

Andreas already had a modest Instagram following from traveling, so he used it to invite friends and share what he was making. Word spread faster than he expected.

• The first few nights brought in about 10 burgers

• A few weeks later it was 30

• Then 50

• Then 100

• Eventually, around 200 a night

He was open only three hours a day, with no delivery, but the demand made one thing clear: the village was just the beginning.

Moving to the city and taking a bigger risk

After a year in the village, Andreas reinvested everything into a larger Burger Guy location in the city center. It was the same concept, just on a much bigger stage.

“If you want success, you need to risk,” he says. “But you also need to understand the business.”

The city location took off, especially with students and young professionals. As sales grew, Andreas used his kitchen capacity to test new ideas through ghost kitchens. Delivery orders helped him understand what customers wanted before he invested in a physical space.

Ghost kitchens became part of his strategy:

• Test a concept on delivery

• Build demand

• If it works, open a store

One of these eventually turned into a mall restaurant. Another became Hip-ster's, his premium smash-burger concept.

At the same time, he pursued a long-held dream of taking his brand abroad. After meeting a franchise partner, he launched a seasonal Burger Guy food truck in Abu Dhabi.

The mindset behind the growth: people first

When you ask Andreas what he’s most proud of, he doesn’t mention menu items or locations.

“The staff. They’re everything,” he says. “I pay them well, and many have been with me for six years.”

He focuses on fair pay, trust, and a calm kitchen. “I’m not the boss who screams. I talk to them like friends.”

Product is the other pillar. He updates menus carefully, invests in quality, and keeps operations clean and consistent. And he’s clear about how marketing fits in:

“Good product without good marketing doesn’t work. Good marketing without good product doesn’t work. You need both.”

That balance helped his concepts grow quickly on delivery and later set the stage for Wolt Capital.

Bringing in Wolt: delivery first, then capital

When Andreas opened the city center location, delivery became essential. Wolt helped him reach students, office workers, and neighborhoods far beyond walking distance.

Over time, he built a close working relationship with his Wolt account manager.

“My account manager checks in, cares about my business, and helps me increase sales,” he says.

So when he received a message about Wolt Capital, he decided to learn more. Wolt Capital gives merchants fast access to funding based on their sales history on Wolt, with repayments that adjust automatically as sales go up or down.

A few days after applying via the Merchant portal, he received an offer and accepted a €30,000 advance.

“There was no endless paperwork,” he says. “It was simple. I knew the terms from the start.”

Using Wolt Capital to open a pizza restaurant

Andreas had already trained in Naples to learn traditional Neapolitan pizza. He just needed the resources to open the shop.

For him, Wolt Capital did two things:

1. It sped up a plan he already believed in

2. It reduced the pressure of saving for months before acting

“It felt like the investment paid for itself because the shop took off so fast,” he says.

For Andreas, the partnership with Wolt goes beyond financing. “Wolt is the best delivery company in Cyprus. The service is reliable. My account manager actually checks in, cares about my business, and helps me increase sales.”

Next on his list: a multi-brand drive-through hub

Inspired by a concept he saw in Dubai, Andreas wants to create a drive-through food park in Cyprus.

The idea:

• Several food trucks in one location

• Shared storage, supply runs, and staff

• Fast pickup for both customers and couriers

• Multiple menus, burgers, pizza, coffee, pasta, in one stop

“Running one truck alone is hard,” he says. “But five or six together can really work.”

He expects Wolt Capital to play a role in getting the project off the ground.

Andreas’s advice to other business owners? “You must know what to do with the money,” he says. “If the numbers make sense, take it. If they don’t, don’t.”