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.
What is your motto for your brands?
Create your own rules. Eat with your eyes.
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.
What do you think the new normal will look like?
We’re hoping for the best. There has definitely been a shift toward learning how to create experiences regardless of what’s happening around us; that in itself is a great discovery that we wouldn’t have learned otherwise. We definitely think creative and crazy ideas are coming our way!
What are your plans for the near future?
We intend to keep surprising everyone!
What advice can you give young entrepreneurs?
If you do anything with passion, people will react with passion — it’s that simple.
As women, what would you like to say to other women?
Trust your gut; we are very intuitive.
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About author
Rita Ghantous
Rita Ghantous is a hospitality aficionado and a passionate writer with over 9 years’ experience in journalism and 5 years experience in the hospitality sector. Her passion for the performance arts and writing, started early. At 10 years old she was praised for her solo performance of the Beatles song “All My Love” accompanied by a guitarist, and was approached by a French talent scout during her school play. However, her love for writing was stronger. Fresh out of school, she became a freelance journalist for Noun Magazine and was awarded the Silver Award Cup for Outstanding Poetry, by The International Library of Poetry (Washington DC). She studied Business Management and earned a Masters degree from Saint Joseph University (USJ), her thesis was published in the Proche-Orient, Études en Management book. She then pursued a career in the hospitality industry but didn’t give up writing, that is why she launched the Four Points by Sheraton Le Verdun Newsletter. Her love for the industry and journalism led her to Hospitality Services - the organizers of the HORECA trade show in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan, as well as Salon Du Chocolat, Beirut Cooking Festival, Whisky Live and other regional shows. She is currently the Publications Executive of Hospitality News Middle East, Taste & Flavors and Lebanon Traveler. It is with ultimate devotion for her magazines that she demonstrates her hospitality savoir-faire.
