NEWS
F&B
BRINGING BACK THE OLD BEIRUT WITH AL FALAMANKI
Lebanese restaurateur Tony Ramy has dedicated his life to promoting the unique flavors of Lebanon through his restaurant group and his work with the RNCP Syndicate. Here, the chairman and CEO of Mood Village and co-owner of Al Sultan Brahim, Al Falamanki and Diwan Beirut group shares his expansion plans. You previously opened a pop-up concept for Al Falamanki in KSA. Are you considering a permanent branch anytime soon?
were fully booked most of the time. This shows that our reputation goes far beyond our beloved Lebanon. Our next permanent outlet with a franchisee partner consists of 3,000 square meters and will be ready by 2023.
What can you tell us about Al Falamanki Egypt? Egypt is next, as we have already signed in Sitta October and have been searching for a suitable location under Al Falamanki management. We are very excited to explore this new territory, as it’s looking promising.tonyramy.com Read the full interview on hospitalitynewsmag.com
Our pop-up in Riyadh was a success story. We felt the love toward our brand, as we
SANDY HAYEK AT THE HELM OF TIME OUT MARKET DUBAI
home to 17 award-winning chefs who have Sandy Hayek is a woman of been handpicked by the editors at Time Out. many talents. Having worked The chefs represent the best of the city and in Sweden and the UAE, where we are looking forward to welcoming more she has held senior positions locals and tourists as travel restrictions ease. at a number of award-winning What are your future plans? dining and retail concepts, she Given the model of Time Out Market, recently began a new chapter there is always room for growth. In the coming years, we will continue to see as the GM of Time Out Market Dubai, a new food hall. We learn exciting concepts from new and existing vendors alongside cultural activities and more about her new role. entertainment to complement this one-
How will you launch and grow Time Out Market Dubai? Time Out Market Dubai was launched in April 2021 and is already a huge success. It is
of-a-kind dining experience. In terms of expansion, Time Out Market will be popping up in various cities, including Abu Dhabi. timeoutmarket.com/Dubai Read the full interview on hospitalitynewsmag.com
LIFE AS A UNICORN: WHAT DOES KITOPI HAVE UNDER ITS BELT?
UAE-based cloud kitchen platform Kitopi has become the MENA region’s third billiondollar company, making it a “unicorn”. HN spoke with Mario Arjan, the company’s managing director, UAE, to learn about the company’s upcoming plans. Given the comeptition among many dark kitchen service providers, what is the key to your success? Kitopi is the world’s leading managed cloud kitchen platform, and we take care of the entire operations for a restaurant or F&B partner – from the supply chain, staff training, food preparation and delivery to customer experience. A large part of our competitive advantage is due to our proprietary Smart Kitchen Operating System
(SKOS). SKOS is a suite of applications that optimizes the performance of our cloud kitchen operations in real time. The solution focuses on delivering a great customer experience across multiple brands in a single kitchen by maximizing operational efficiency. Since launch, SKOS has enabled Kitopi to scale to 200+ brands in 60+ sites in over just three years.
What’s coming? We will channel the new funding to fuel our continued expansion within the Middle East and support entry to new markets such as Southeast Asia. We will also continue to innovate and expand our tech stack and grow our strategic restaurant partnerships. More specifically, our plan is to make Saudi Arabia Kitopi’s Middle East headquarters, while Dubai will remain a global head office as it looks to expand into Southeast Asia. kitopi.com Read the full interview on hospitalitynewsmag.com
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HOSPITALITY NEWS ME | OCT - NOV 2021
