Mehmet Cecen was scrolling through Facebook when inspiration struck.
Business was good for the 29-year-old at his burger van on Newport Road in Cardiff, which has a devoted customer base despite being surrounded by fast food giants including McDonald's, KFC, Burger King and Taco Bell.
Another big name, Five Guys, will open in April opposite Mehmet's van. He says he is not worried by the American burger chain's plans, but they made him want to "step up my game". And an opportunity presented itself last Monday as he looked through a buy and sell Facebook page.
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Mehmet spotted a picture of a van displaying the words 'Two Guys' with branding which mimicked Five Guys' red and white chequered pattern. He found himself wondering: "I wonder what Five Guys would do if I bought this van."
He tells us: "Next thing, I've bought it. It's right opposite where they're building Five Guys. It couldn't be any funnier."
Minutes after we arrive at Mehmet's spot next to Topps Tiles for this interview, one of his customers gets out of their car without putting the handbrake on. As the vehicle rolls forward, narrowly missing his burger van, Mehmet shouts: "You're killing me bro."
After a flurry of frantic motion from the car owner, disaster is averted and a smile is back on Mehmet's face. Working alongside his girlfriend Abbie, they both have an easy rapport with the steady stream of customers who turn up in the pelting rain of the Tuesday morning. "We're like a family," he grins.
Mehmet is not yet trading from 'Two Guys', which is parked next to his current burger van. On the other side is a third van where he sells an eclectic variety of snacks ranging from American sweets to handcooked crisps.
He spent £10,000 on the new van, which he aims to open before the Five Guys branch does. When he moves over, he plans to use the old burger van as a barber shop. His ultimate vision is a longer row of vans — he isn't yet sure how many — offering a mix of businesses like the bustling City Road in Roath.
Is he worried Five Guys might hit him with a lawsuit? "Not really. If they do it's up to them. I'd just change it to 'Two Guys on Wheels'."
Mehmet was inspired by comedian Joe Lycett, who famously changed his name to Hugo Boss. "I'm the kind of guy who likes joking around," he says.
Inside the new van, one of the walls reads "Two Guys and a Girl", though Mehmet is unsure of the backstory. He says the previous owner burst out laughing when he explained his plan to place the van opposite a Five Guys.
The main motive for the purchase was a bigger kitchen, but the Five Guys nod was a bonus says Mehmet, who doesn't believe the chain will "have a chance" against him.
"I'm already out here competing with the big boys. I'm competing with McDonald's and that's the biggest competition you can get. I'm not like most burger vans. I've got a drinks and sweets van. I've got breakfasts, wedges, onion rings. I can give you plain, seeded or brioche buns, and burgers cooked fresh in front of you. I've got a card machine. Whatever all these big brands do, I do better."
Mehmet, who usually works seven days a week, adds: "If I have a day off people get mad at me. They say, 'We had to go to McDonald's.' I'm open from 10am til 11pm every day, then I'm cleaning til 2am or 3am. Everyone says I'm a grafter. I love what I do."
He grew up in Llantwit Major helping with his dad Ali's business, Best Kebab Van. When Ali opened a shop in the town called New Best Kebab, Mehmet worked there before buying it in 2015 when his dad retired.
Mehmet bought his current van in 2019, naming it New Best Kebab Van. For six months he was working 20 hours a day, running both the Llantwit Major site and the van on Newport Road. Exhausted, he decided to sell the shop.
"I chose Cardiff because it's bigger, there is more opportunity," he says. "The van had been here 30 years before me. Someone would have it a month, then it would shut, open, shut. It had a bad reputation, and then I've basically made the impossible work. People say, 'No one could get it going, fair play to you.'"
But it wasn't an overnight success. Mehmet recalls: "The first two years I didn't really make money. I couldn't sell 10 sausages a day. People used to look at my van and I could tell they were thinking, 'Oh it's a burger van.' They'd head into McDonald's drive-thru.
"Then lockdown happened. While McDonald's was shut, I stayed open and made a name for myself. People were like, 'This burger van is actually good.'
"I was working 20 hours a day because when there's an opportunity, you take it. People were like seagulls coming here. I was selling 100 sausages a day."
Mehmet's van, which offers burgers for £3, is "a lot better than the other places" on Newport Road, says Shane Kertin, a removals worker who comes here every day with brother and coworker Arron.
Shane, 26, has opted for a Full English breakfast tray and Arron, 23, a bacon and sausage roll. Asked what separates Mehmet's business from the other fast food joints, Arron replies: "The customer service. He's a bubbly guy."
Pointing to the building work at the Five Guys site, another customer in the queue chimes in: "He's gonna beat them easy."
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