Bahrain’s Abraaj announces UAE debut

OUR CORRESPONDENT / Emirates Business

Bahrain’s Al Abraaj group, a leading investor operating in global growth markets, announced their first venture in the UAE, with YaSalam! Restaurant in Jumeirah Lake Tower, Dubai.
As the economy of F&B industry in the UAE is undergoing a significant growth, it has been estimated that the industry is to witness 1,600 new F&B outlets by 2019, according to a new
report from KPMG.
The company that is known for its distinctive style of preparing cuisines since 1987 with 30 stores in Bahrain, Abraaj is looking forward to win Dubai hearts with its exotic offerings. Hamad Rashed Isa, Director of AlAbraaj Restaurants Group, told Emirates Business, “Dubai is a very exciting city with great business potentials, as well Dubai’s restaurant scene is very diverse and interesting and we want to be a part of this.”
The restaurant ‘YaSalam!’ derived from an Arabic word that expresses satisfaction, is all devoted to serve fresh traditional Arabian fast food, which would be prepared daily with natural ingredients, promising a flavour packed treat for all. The menu includes shawarma, doner wraps and platters, as well as a unique selection of salads and sides.
Talking about the F&B industry in this region, Rashed Isa said, “Dubai is a multicultural city, F&B will have to be able to cater to the highest percentage of cultures possible.”
The restaurant offers a classic shawarma, which is one of the staple meal YaSalam offers; however, extensive effort has gone into making the standard beef or chicken shawarma exclusively at YaSalam. The flatbread used is made of both white and whole meal flour, and the chicken shawarma is made from 100 percent chicken breast. The doner at YaSalam is wrapped and perfectly toasted like a shawarma; fusing the best of both worlds.
The food consumption in the GCC countries is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5 percent between 2014 and 2019 as the region’s population expands, according to investment bank Alpen Capital’s GCC Food Industry
Report 2015. Food consumed in the region is likely to reach 51.9 million metric tonnes by 2019, it said.
Further adding about the expansion plans, Isa stated, “We are looking forward to bring three of our unique brands to the UAE Market, YaSalam!, Lumee and Al Bindiara, with YaSalam opening its first branch in JLT, the market response and feedback is very promising and we are hoping to expand through another branch of YaSalam before the end of this Year. Lumee and Al Bindiara as well will have a great future in UAE.”