I don't run a kebab shop. I've never carved a doner. But I have dozens of kebab shops and fast-food outlets as Pépite Pass customers, and every week I see what makes a kebab shop thrive or close within a year.
This article won't tell you which legal structure to choose, how much a doner spit costs, or which meat to buy. Not my field, not my credibility. What I can tell you, on the other hand, is what happens on the marketing, retention and customer acquisition side: the levers that make an average-location kebab shop take off, and a prime-location kebab shop close down anyway.
Spoiler: the concept, the meat, the decor, that's the price of entry. It's not what makes the difference. Here are the 4 levers I really see mattering in 2026.
Before the levers: why a kebab shop survives or dies in 2026
The kebab market in France is one of the most saturated in fast food. Opening your kebab shop? There are already 3 others within a 500-metre radius, and probably a French tacos joint on top. The good news: demand is huge and steady. The bad news: everyone knows it, so supply keeps up.
In this equation, the factor that makes a kebab shop stand out is no longer the raw quality of the product (all your competitors have good meat too, or at least claim to). It's your ability to:
- Capture the customer the first time (acquisition).
- Make them want to come back (retention).
- Not let the platforms drain your margin (independence).
- And before all that: exist on Google when the customer types "kebab near me" (local visibility).
These 4 dimensions are the 4 levers that follow. None is revolutionary. All are underused by 80% of the kebab shops I see opening.
Lever #1: location and foot traffic (but not for the reasons people think)
Everyone will tell you "location, location, location". It's true. But not for the reason people believe. A good location won't "save" your kebab shop, it will simply give you incoming traffic you won't have to go looking for.
And that's exactly where things go wrong. A prime location naturally pulls in passers-by. Plenty of kebab shops set up there and coast on it. The result: they put no system in place to retain those customers. The day traffic drops (roadworks on the street, a quiet stretch, a new competitor), there's no cushion of loyal customers to soften the blow. And down it goes.
Conversely, I regularly see average-location kebab shops running very well because, from the very first month, they nailed down the other 3 levers in this article. Their customers come back deliberately. They're not passers-by, they're regulars.
What to take away about location:
- A good location gives you traffic, not loyal customers. Those are two different things.
- A bad location is not a death sentence, provided you invest heavily in the next 3 levers.
- The worst scenario: a good location with no retention system. You burn through your traffic without banking anything. That's what I most often see close down.
I'm not going to give you precise figures on rent or fit-out budget: it's not my trade, and every city is different. Ask a chartered accountant who specialises in hospitality and a local commercial estate agent. They're the ones equipped for that.
Lever #2: Google reviews, the local SEO that changes everything
This is the most underrated lever, by far. When someone types "kebab near me" or "best kebab [your city]", Google does not show you by order of proximity. It shows you by a combination of proximity + number of reviews + average rating + recency of reviews. That's what is called local SEO.
In concrete terms, what I see on the kebab shops using Pépite Pass:
- Below 50 reviews: you're invisible, even if you're the closest to the customer.
- Between 80 and 120 reviews (rating > 4.3): you start showing up, especially for mobile searches.
- Above 200 well-rated reviews: you become untouchable in your area. Snowball effect: the more reviews you have, the more Google promotes you, the more customers you generate, the more reviews you collect.
The problem is that collecting Google reviews is a job in itself. Asking nicely at the counter works for 1 customer in 50. Putting a QR code on the receipt saying "leave us a review" works for 1 customer in 30. It's too slow.
Above all, there are strict rules to follow: you're not allowed to pay a customer for a positive review, nor to make a reward conditional on leaving a good rating. If you do, Google removes your profile, and all your work is on the floor.
What does work, and is perfectly legal, is a game mechanic where the customer wins something in exchange for taking part, not for the rating. For that, what we've built at Pépite Pass is the prize wheel, a tool that lets a kebab shop offer its customers a spin of a wheel (with rewards like free fries, a drink, a free kebab) in exchange for having left an honest review. The customer is free to give 1 or 5 stars. They're the one who chooses. And it's precisely that freedom that makes the mechanic compliant with Google's rules, while multiplying the review collection rate by 10 to 20 compared with a passive QR code.
On the kebab shops that have put this in place, I see them go from 30 to 40 reviews to 200+ reviews in 4 to 6 months. That's the difference between being invisible and being first on Google Maps.
Lever #3: the customer who comes back 2 to 3 times a week
Now that we've talked about acquisition (traffic + Google), we need to talk about the crux of the matter: retention. The kebab shops that truly thrive are not the ones pulling off flashy stunts on Uber Eats. They're the ones with a hard core of 200 to 500 regulars coming back every week.
The field rule: 20% of your customers make 60 to 70% of your turnover. Those 20% are the local students, the workers from the office next door, the lunch-break regulars. They come 1 to 4 times a week. And if you lose them (because they move away, because a new kebab shop opens, because you botched a service), you only notice several weeks later, and by then it's too late.
The only way to hold that retention over time is to have a system that:
- Identifies every regular customer (knowing who comes back, how many times, how often).
- Gives them a concrete reason to come back rather than go to the competitor (reward, status, exclusivity).
- Lets you talk to them directly, without depending on social media or the platforms.
The loyalty card, then. Except that the cardboard card stamped by hand, in 2026, is dead. Three simple reasons: the customer loses it half the time, you have no data on them, and you can never follow up with them.
What we've built at Pépite Pass to answer that is the Apple Wallet and Google Wallet loyalty card. The customer scans a QR code at the counter, adds the card in 5 seconds, without downloading an app. On every visit, you stamp it digitally (a QR code at the till). And above all, this is where the real value lies: you can send them a push notification straight to their iPhone or Android, without going through Instagram, without going through paid SMS, without going through anything other than the phone's native wallet.
For a kebab shop, that means being able to send: "Wednesday lunchtime, kebab + fries + drink for 9.90 €, exclusive to loyal customers", and see 30 to 50 people show up at the next service. That's the kind of lever no cardboard card will ever allow.
What concretely works on a kebab shop when it comes to loyalty
Here's what I see working on the kebab shop customers, without going into the detail of the mechanics (I cover this in more detail in this article on restaurant loyalty programme mechanics):
- 10 stamps = 1 free kebab. That's the sweet spot, engaging enough, not demotivating.
- Sign-up bonus: 1 free stamp as soon as the card is added to the wallet. It kicks off retention from the very first visit.
- Targeted notification on Wednesday/Thursday: the quiet days. To get the customer to come back one extra time in the week.
- Surprise reward at the 5th stamp (a free drink, for example): it keeps motivation up over time.
Want a loyalty card for your kebab shop? Create it for free
Lever #4: independence from Uber Eats and Deliveroo
Let's talk about the touchy subject. In 2026, Uber Eats and Deliveroo take between 25 and 35% commission on every order placed through their platform. On a 9 € kebab, that means you take home around 6 €, minus product costs, packaging, and prep time.
Should you be on them when you open a kebab shop? Honestly, yes, at the start. It's a massive acquisition channel that lets you build volume quickly and test your processes. But it's a long-term poison if you put nothing in place to shift those customers onto your own channel.
Here's the difference in net margin between the two channels, on a typical kebab order:
| Channel | Commission | Customer data | Ability to follow up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uber Eats / Deliveroo | 25 to 35% | None (the customer belongs to the platform) | None |
| In-house click and collect | 0 to 3% | Full (phone, email, history) | Total |
| In-store / standard takeaway order | 0% | Partial if loyalty card | Partial if loyalty card |
On a kebab shop that makes 80% of its turnover via Uber Eats, I regularly see the following scenario: the platform raises its commission by 2 points, changes its algorithm to favour chains, and overnight the turnover collapses. With no way to reach the lost customers, because they were never your customers, they were always the platform's.
To avoid that, what we've built at Pépite Pass is a digital menu with built-in click and collect, no commission. Your customers order directly from a QR code on your counter or from your Google Business Profile, and come to collect. No delivery rider, no platform, no commission. And above all: you get their number, their history, and you can then follow up with them through the Wallet loyalty card.
The strategy that works is not "Uber Eats vs in-house click and collect". It's "Uber Eats at the start for volume, then gradually shift customers to the direct, commission-free channel". After 18 to 24 months, the kebab shops that control their margin are the ones with at least 40 to 50% of their order volume off-platform.
What I see the kebab shops that work do vs the ones that close
After several years talking every day to restaurant owner customers, I can sketch out the two typical profiles for you. Neither is linked to the product itself.
The kebab shop that closes within a year
- Opens, has a fine first month thanks to opening buzz, then word of mouth runs out of steam.
- Has no active Google Business Profile, or a profile with 12 reviews half of which date from 2022.
- No loyalty card, or a cardboard card nobody ever pulls back out.
- Depends 80% on Uber Eats after 6 months.
- When traffic drops, has no way to communicate with its former customers.
- Closes quietly after 12 to 18 months.
The kebab shop that thrives and lasts
- Looks after its Google Business Profile from day 1, and puts in place an active review collection system (a legal mechanic like a prize wheel).
- Launches its digital Wallet loyalty card in the first week. By 6 months, it has 800 to 1,500 customers signed up.
- Is on Uber Eats, but actively pushes its customers onto its direct click and collect (QR code on the order, a note in the bag, etc.).
- Sends 2 push notifications a month to its regulars, never more, always with a real offer.
- After 18 months, has a hard core of 300 to 500 true regulars making 60% of turnover. And who are its own, not a platform's.
The difference between the two profiles is not the concept, is not the meat, is not the decor. It's the marketing toolkit put in place from the start. And the longer you wait to put it in place, the harder it is to catch up.
If I had to sum it up in one sentence for a future kebab shop owner
Here's what I'd say to someone sending me a WhatsApp going "Léo, I'm opening a kebab shop in 3 months, what should I do?":
"Treat the meat, the location and the decor as the price of entry. Today, what makes the difference between a kebab shop that lasts and one that closes is your Google Business Profile, your loyalty card and your independence from the platforms. Put these 3 levers in place in the first week, not in 6 months when the turnover starts to drop."
To go further on the pure retention side, I'll point you to my full guide on how to retain your restaurant customers in 2026, and to the article on wallet push notifications, which is the most powerful lever I have to offer restaurant owners today.
If you have a specific question about your kebab shop project (retention, review collection or click and collect), send me a direct message on WhatsApp. I answer personally, and I'll give you an honest take on what seems the priority in your case.
