6 minute read
Food & Beverage
THE FEMALE POWER DUO DISRUPTING THE F&B SCENE IN THE UAE AND KSA
Driven by their desire to create home-grown food concepts that bring people together, Amal Al Marri and Deem Al Bassam founded the Independent Food Company, a UAE-based hospitality company. Today, the firm has several groundbreaking F&B outlets, including SALT, Switch, Parker’s, Grind, Somewhere and Public. We learn more.
How did it all start?
We wanted to reimagine the dining scene in Dubai, creating our own rules and exploring the boundaries of the F&B industry to truly understand what engages people. We aimed to bring much more depth and emotion to dining, away from franchises and ordinary experiences. It all started with Switch. Deem opened this restaurant based on the advice of consultants. They told her that a top, luxurious location was the key to success in the F&B industry, so she opened the branch in Dubai Mall. A few years later, we decided to create a concept that was against all these rules and opened SALT, a food truck in the middle of nowhere. It garnered a lot of attention, and that’s when we realized that people really do love simple things; location doesn’t matter but rather the experience that you offer your customers. If the experience sparks emotions, then you have created a memory, which is priceless. We then realized that by giving your brand a story, a soul and a mission, it creates a community around it because you have treated the brand as human, and humans will respond to that. More concepts followed, and we made sure that they all had strong stories, starting with Parkers, then Somewhere and finally Public.
INTERVIEW WITH ZAID AYOU, CEO & FOUNDER SAJJ MEDITERRANEAN
Zaid Ayoub is a man of many talents. The Silicon Valley entrepreneur not only manages investment funds, but he also acts as an advisor to the Jordanian Professional Diaspora Network. Here, he tells us about his role as CEO of SAJJ Mediterranean, a casual food concept.
How did you manage to grow SAJJ Mediterranean from a single branch in 2012 to a network of several stores and food trucks?
It all boils down to hard work. We knew we had a great product and customer experience from the outset, but it was tough operationally in the beginning. A couple of years into SAJJ’s launch, we reset and reengineered the process for consistency and scale. I surrounded myself with amazing, dedicated people; I also built a progressive and transparent culture. How do you foresee the future of restaurants post Covid-19?
I believe that convenience is key. Direct and third-party delivery platforms will continue to prosper. There will be a consolidation of virtual brands — some will succeed while others will exit the market. Ghost kitchens will play a major role in the industry, mainly for established brands to fill the gap in certain geographic areas and possibly with individual-owned operators. The direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel is the most intriguing to me; it is harder to implement but could be a game changer. Do you have any projects in the pipeline?
There are always new projects. We will resume our geographic expansion and continue with menu development, like shareable mezze items, SAJJ Plates and fun “do-it-yourself” meal kits. We will also be focusing on our DTC channel, SAJJ Market. I believe we will come out of Covid-19 stronger. I will also continue investing in promising new companies and technologies. sajjstreeteats.com What has been the biggest challenge?
By far the craziest challenge was having to shut down our restaurants during lockdown. In the blink of an eye, the world turned upside down right in front of us. We had a minute to process all our restaurants shutting down and come up with an action plan to adapt.
We started with picking existing items from our menus that we could promote.
We were always against home delivery, so it was quite difficult to adjust to the delivery scene. We believed that you couldn’t enjoy the full SALT experience by just having the food but found a way to cater to our customers during these unusual times.
Can you give us an update on the culinary scene in the UAE?
It’s definitely a booming industry, and we love to see local businesses flourish and explore the endless boundaries. It’s by far the most interesting industry to keep an eye on. indpt.com
Read the full interview on hospitalitynewsmag.com
IN BRIEF
The first female-led F&B concept debuts in Dubai SLS Dubai Hotel & Residences has launched Fi’lia, a female-led restaurant. The restaurant is one of the culinary concepts that Accor acquired when they completed the acquisition of sbe hotel brands in November 2020. sbe.com/restaurants/filia/dubai
Bulldozer Group’s Evgeny Kuzin awarded a UAE Gold Card Visa Evgeny Kuzin, co-founder of Bulldozer Group, has been awarded a UAE Gold Card Visa for his commitment to the growth and development of the Emirates. bulldozer-group.com
Hunter & Barrel opens at Vida Emirates Hill, Dubai Hunter & Barrel has opened its doors at Vida Emirate’s Hills, offering clients a range of charcoal-roasted meats and vegetables, a selection of coffee and barrel-aged craft beverages. hunterandbarrel.ae
Italian restaurant and lounge to open in DIFC Mine & Yours Group, launched a new Italian concept in Dubai. Set to open in September 2021 in the heart of Dubai International Financial Center, Chic Nonna will feature an Italian restaurant on the ground floor and a lounge bar on the first floor. mineandyoursgroup.com
DHOOKAH, A UNIQUE SOLUTION FOR HOOKAH
Hospitality and F&B expert George Gerges tells us how he invented Dhookah, a product that aims to provide a safe solution to hookah demand and usage during the Covid-19 pandemic.
What is Dhookah?
Dhookah is the only single-use hookah and disposable that prevents cross-contamination, hence the safest option available for smokers to enjoy their time smoking a hookah. Moreover, Dhookah is also geared toward solving major hospitality problems, such as outlets completely closing down due to the risk of contamination or seeing income drastically depleted by the ban of unsafe, multi-use hookahs. That's why our product redefines the smoking experience.
How did you come up with such an innovative product?
I have worked in the F&B industry for the last 23 years. When Covid-19 struck, all the restaurants with hookah services in Lebanon closed down, which was a big disaster for the entire sector and the economy as a whole. I decided to fix the problem, and after months of research, I found out that the only solution to reopening such restaurants was to create an environmentally friendly, single-use, disposable hookah.
What are the benefits of offering guests disposable hookahs rather than conventional ones?
It is scientifically proven that the conventional multi-use hookahs can never be cleaned well enough to kill all bacteria, germs and viruses. Moreover, the plastic used is not disposable; it can be opened, manipulated and can even become more toxic when heat is applied. Dhookah is a single-use solution, which is unwrapped by the guest. It is untouched by any person apart from the user and is immediately crushed and disposed of after it is used once. As Dhookah is made from FDA-approved treated tin — a fully recyclable and food-grade safe material — it is collected by our distributors after usage and sent for recycling.
What is your vision for Dhookah?
My aim is to provide a solution for hookah smokers all over the world who have been unable to enjoy smoking during the pandemic. I also intend to support hospitality outlets, giving them the opportunity to offer their customers hookahs that fully respect all Covid-19 safety rules.
