With his exhibition "Wonderwalls. Art & Toys" at the NRW Forum in 2022, Selim Varol has become known to many people as a passionate art collector. He has also made a name for himself as a restaurateur, formerly with Café Toykio and, for a few years now, with the burger restaurant "What's Beef". In an interview with VIVID editor Rainer Kunst, he talks about what family means to him, his first business experience at as a trader at the flea market, the importance of hospitality in his life, being a life-long collector and his definition of success.

If we were both going up in the lift at the Dreischeibenhaus right now, what would you say if I asked you: What do you do?
When we get to the top, I would say: I am a father - I feel very comfortable in that role in my family! And a lot has happened along the way. By nature, I'm a bit of a hunter-gatherer. It's a big part of who I am, shaping the collection that, thus, tells my life story. I used to want to work and earn money to support artists and, if I enjoyed it, to make art myself - and that's where I got to now.

How did you earn your first money and find your way into business?
I actually started doing business when I was six years old, at a flea market (laughs). I bought paperbacks for 10 pennies each, repackaged them on my father's packaging line, who was also an entrepreneur in his early days, and sold them at the same flea market for 1 mark each. That added up to 20 marks a day, and that was a lot of money for me. Especially as we didn't just get pocket money, but had to help my father with his work to earn it. It was hard - but obviously encouraged my entrepreneurial spirit.

After school I started an apprenticeship at a bank and during my training I arranged the financing of property on my own and earned money that way. I then worked in the field for a couple of years. I met a lot of people and saw how they lived. It also gave me a completely different understanding of art and broadened my horizons immensely.

How did you end up in the restaurant trade?
For me, it is its own thing. You're either a host or you're not. And you get that from your family. With my mother, it's always been the case. She was a great cook, always had people over for dinner and always made sure to bring different cultures together. So, I basically grew up with hospitality. I often threw parties and my best friends always happened to be chefs (laughs). While travelling, I also enjoyed getting to know different cuisines. At some point, I decided to take up professionally what I had always been doing anyway. My wife Eva and I took our first gastronomic step with Café Toykio, where we also incorporated an emphasis on collecting and books.

You've been the owner of the burger restaurant "What's Beef" in the centre of Immermannstraße in the Japanese quarter for some time now. How is the location doing and how are you dealing with challenges such as staff shortages, inflation and rising energy prices?
We are very happy at Immermannstrasse and have found a fair long-term lease. We've been there for ten years, right in the middle of the Japanese quarter, and we survived the pandemic. My partner Ali, who runs the restaurant, is also responsible for the staff - and he does a really good job and I trust him. We have very little staff turnover. I think this is because we not only pay well, but also put our heart and soul into our work, communicate as equals within the team and offer prospects. As far as pricing is concerned, before Covid our lunch menu was 10 Euro, which can be seen as a competitive factor, and we've kept it that way for almost six years. Now we're at 16 Euro - and that's still a tough price for us maintain because we do everything ourselves. When you are in the restaurant business, you should be a genuinely passionate host. If you are in it for the money, you won’t find happiness.

Last year there was a large and very successful exhibition of your art collection at the NRW Forum. How did you get into collecting art?
I was six years old when I first saw Star Wars in the cinema in Turkey. I was totally blown away. Then this huge wave of merchandising started with all the figures. We didn't have much money at that time, so my mum bought us the discounted second-hand ones on sale. That awakened my ambition: I wanted to buy the new ones instead - and I wanted to do it myself. Then I started my comic book business and gradually built up my collection. Eventually I added street art, designer toys and, much later, contemporary art. The exhibition at the NRW Forum also tells this story of acquisition, so it's quite emotional for me. Collecting is an activity that is closely linked to childhood for me, and it also preserves my inner child.

Where do you want to take the collection? What projects are you planning?
Japan would be a good place to take the collection. But I don't want to go that far. I really enjoyed the fact that the exhibition here in Düsseldorf was so close, like my second living room, like a family reunion where I could give countless tours. Explaining how things came about is also part of the collection. So it would have to be somewhere close enough that I could still go in person. Vienna would be good. And of course a permanent exhibition here in my home country would be particularly great.

What role does your wife Eva play for you and your entrepreneurial endeavours?
Ever since we met and fell in love, Eva has been the centre of my life and the centre of our family. She gives me the most energy and inspiration of all the people around me. Art also brought us together, we met at an exhibition of the artist JR - and he's the one who married us at the Malkasten. Without Eva, I probably wouldn't be doing what I'm doing and I probably wouldn't have settled down.

How do you define success?
Success is happiness. It's the ideal state when you do something that makes you happy and you make money doing it. The content is secondary. Many people work just to finance their lives in our affluent society and to be able to afford more and more. But this is not an endless scenario, because we are living at a turning point with many crises. And why is that? Because we are not connected. We need to reconnect more and create places where people can do that. Restaurants, for example, play a big role in this!

Why do you live in Düsseldorf? What do you like about the city?
I like Düsseldorf because it's not so big. This size is decisive for me, and 30 years ago, I was immediately welcomed with open arms here. I had arrived here - and I really arrived when Eva also arrived and we started a family here. •

ABOUT SELIM VAROL

• 1999 - 2007: CMO at 11883 Telecom

• 2007: First pop-up at the Artempus Gallery in Düsseldorf

• 2010: Opening JR - Women Are Heroes Show @ SV Gallery in Düsseldorf

• 2011 - 2014: Toykio Gallery & Coffee on Immermanstrasse 18 in Düsseldorf

• 2012: First collection show: Art & Toys – Collection Show @ Me Collections Room Berlin

• 2013: Opening What’s Beef – Fresh Burgers on Immermannstrasse 24 in Düsseldorf

• 2013 - 2014: At Home I´m a Tourist – Collection Show @ CAC Malaga Spain

• 2015 - 2017: What's Pizza on Immerman-strasse 18 in Düsseldorf

• 2022 - 2023: Collection Show @ Kunstpalast - NRW Forum Düsseldorf

Interview: Rainer Kunst
Text: Tom Corrinth
Pictures: Mimo Khair

"Collecting is and activity that also preserves my inner child." - Kunst meets Selim Varol