RAK Hospitality Group, a major asset owner and portfolio
manager for the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, is preparing to unveil
a new set of American restaurants in the United Arab Emirates.
One such restaurant is Kona Grill, an American grill and sushi bar
categorized as “premier casual dining.” The chain operates 40 restaurants in 20
U.S. states and the territory of Puerto Rico.
RAK Hospitality Group will develop these restaurants through
its subsidiary, Hakaya Collection. A franchise agreement is in hand, and the project
will be rolled out over seven years.
“The decision to bring Kona Grill to the UAE was driven by
several reasons.” Yannis Anagnostakis, CEO of RAK Hospitality Holding, told the Gulf News Journal recently.
“First and foremost, Kona is an established and well managed business with very
broad customer appeal, thanks to a rich menu offering and great choice of
dining environments under one roof. … We were impressed with its trading success
in very diverse locations such as retail centers, shopping malls, urban and
entertainment districts, as well as commercial and residential locations. Food,
service and look and feel were consistently impressive across all locations we
visited in the U.S., and this consistent quality convinced us that Kona would be
a great addition to the UAE’s most competitive dining and entertainment
landscape.”
Anagnostakis said RAK’s leadership quickly established
common ground with the restaurant management teams and started to approach a
shared vision for that restaurant’s operations in the UAE.
Anagnostakis
also pointed to Kona Grill’s status as a publicly traded
company on the NASDAQ and the strong faith of its shareholders.
As for consumer demand in the area, Anagnostakis hopes the restaurants will
appeal to both natives and expatriates.
“Consumer trends
indicate that Emirati and expat consumers view dining out as both a convenience
and a special occasion.” Anagnostakis said. “The
number of people dining out, therefore, has significantly increased in recent
years. In terms of demographics, the increase in the number of tourists and the
young local population that make up more than half of the overall population in
the GCC is also boosting growth of international FSRs (full-service restaurants) in the UAE.”
Anagnostakis pointed to specific dishes representing the restaurant’s wealth of
options for those with an adventurous palate, including Macadamia nut chicken
with pineapple-papaya marmalade, miso-sake sea bass, and passion fruit creme brulee. For sushi lovers, the restaurants will also feature a wide range of
menu options, like salmon wasabi sashimi, with fresh wasabi root and pickled
onions, cucumber salad with a yuzu ponzu and specialty rolls such as Checkerboard Roll with tuna, habanero tuna mix and
yellowtail-avocado-asparagus and spicy motoyaki sauce.
Anagnostakis said American cuisine isn’t the only type of
foreign food popular in the UAE. For example, RAK operates an Italian concept
restaurant, Pesto Ristorante, at one of the emirate’s prestigious golf courses.
That restaurant is currently under construction but will reopen later in May.
