Food & beverage

60 SECONDS WITH JOEY GHAZAL, THE MAINE GROUP’S SERIAL GASTROPRENEUR

As managing partner of WSH LLC and Tastings SoFlo LLC, a luxury catering and events company, Giovanna Mansi Lutfi has plenty of hospitality experience. Her latest concept, Lira Miami, pays homage to her Lebanese heritage.

Lira offers a taste of traditional Lebanese cuisine in the heart of Miami. What made you decide to launch this concept in such a vibrant city?

Miami’s restaurant scene has grown significantly in recent years; you can now find pretty much every type of cuisine. Despite several Mediterranean options, there are only a few Lebanese ones; these are mainly full-service old-fashioned restaurants with belly-dancing shows and burgundy velvet sofas or takeaway stalls that offer sandwiches and tabbouleh straight from the fridge. Therefore, my partners and I decided to open Lira, a mid-scale casual-chic eatery in a very trendy neighborhood called Wynwood. Clients are welcome to come for lunch or dinner, and we even offer a weekend buffet brunch. Our indoor seating area accommodates 35 guests, and there are two patios: the small one seats 55 guests and the large one is for bigger groups and private parties. Your restaurant not only promotes traditional Lebanese cuisine but also the work of Lebanese artists. What can you tell us about this idea?

Lira is located in Wynwood, a very artsy neighborhood in Miami. It is the hub of street artists from all over the world. There are numerous art galleries as well as restaurants, bars and cool shops. It thus made sense for us embrace art and, in our case, Lebanese art in its many forms. We started off by commissioning the queen of pop art Rana Salam with the logo and brand look. We also have prints and pillows from her online store. There is a big and beautiful outdoor graffiti of Beirut done by illustrator Maria Theresa Kallassy and many prints by Adra, Yasmina Keyrouz and other talented artists. Some of our copper table tops are made by artisans in Qalamoun. We also have cake stands by Nada Debs and “brik” by Lebanese Glass that’s made out of recycled glass from the Beirut Port blast. Our aim is to be as Lebanese as possible in everything we do, and our wish is to give visibility to these artists and many others too. liramiami.com

Having launched dozens of successful brands across three continents, Joey Ghazal, founder and managing partner of The MAINE Group, knows how to run leading restaurants. Here, the “gastropreneur” talks about his rise to the top and reveals his group’s exciting expansion plans.

What do you believe to be the secret behind The MAINE’s success?

We have focused on delivering what people have come to expect from us — a crowdpleasing menu, great cocktails, friendly service, a buzzing atmosphere and excellent value. We also imbued a sense of ownership in the team as we grew the business and have succeeded in creating an experience that is simultaneously warm and inviting while always resonating with a sense of event and celebration. Why did you set your sights on the UK rather than any other European country?

I’ve had my sights set on London since I worked there in my early 20s. Returning to London to open my own restaurant years later is a full-circle moment for me. As the English-speaking capital of Europe, the center of culture and commerce, and a very similar audience to what we have in Dubai, London was the obvious choice for us.

Do you have any other projects you can share with us?

We just launched a laid-back West Coast eatery and rooftop called Canary Club at The Banyan Tree in JLT. This is our first new brand since we first launched The MAINE in 2015. We have always focused on catering to the great communities of Dubai; Canary Club is no exception. themaine.ae

CHANGING THE JUNK FOOD NARRATIVE WITH TAMER ELKHAYAT, CEO OF KCG AND CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PINZA!

11 RESTAURANTS AWARDED MICHELIN STARS IN DUBAI

Tamer Elkhayat, CEO of KCG and co-founder and managing director of PINZA! tells us why he decided to collaborate with Emarat to launch an innovative Italian concept in the UAE.

What can you tell us about your latest collaboration with Emarat?

Aiming to take quality and service-food stations to the next level in Dubai and the northern Emirates, we teamed up with Emarat to offer PINZA!’s signature guilt-free hand-kneaded crust across 50 locations.

How are you working toward changing the perception that of fast food is unhealthy?

We set out to bake the finest pizza dough in the UAE. With our new B2B developments, we are looking forward to enhancing the consumer-based grab-and-go retail environment. Offering wholesome, flavorful, nutritious and delicious food, PINZA! is working toward changing the narrative that healthy food is not tasty. When possible, vegetables are sourced locally, ensuring that only the freshest, GMO-free ingredients and herbs are selected for the toppings. What are your future plans?

Currently, we are working on expanding and developing our current B2B collaborations even further across the UAE. We are also looking to extend PINZA!’s international reach, with franchises across MENA and the UK currently in active discussions. As part of our mission, to help the healthy food segment flourish, we are exploring collaborations and expansions in the UAE and the GCC B2B and foodservice industries. pinza.com

Michelin unveiled its 2022 selection of the Michelin Guide Dubai, recognizing 69 restaurants covering 21 cuisines. A total of 11 restaurants were awarded prestigious Michelin stars, while 14 were recognized as Bib Gourmand restaurants and one received a Green Star for sustainable gastronomy. In a statement, Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide, said: “This very first Dubai selection of restaurants marks a historical moment for the Michelin Guide and the Middle East. What makes Dubai’s culinary landscape so distinctive is its reflection of the more than 200 nationalities that call the city home, delivering an epicurean kaleidoscope.” guide.michelin.com