US fondue brand to expand into MidEast

Florida-based fondue restaurant brand The Melting Pot has announced a deal with Dubai-based Hospitality Concepts and Solutions (HCS) to set up 12 outlets in eight countries across the Middle East.

Through the largest franchise deal in brand’s history, HCS will open 12 Melting Pot outlets in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt before 2020.

“There is nothing like The Melting Pot in the Middle East and my team and I are excited to bring this unique fondue dining experience to the region,” said HCS co-managing partner Ziad Kaddoura.

“With the ever-growing international clientele in this region, we are confident that The Melting Pot will carve its own niche in this competitive market,” added HCS co-managing partner Mohamed Kamal Charafeddine.

HCS is currently sourcing sites for its first Melting Pot outlet to open in Dubai or Beirut in 2013. An outlet is already slated to open in Riyadh in early 2013 through a five-unit franchise deal for the kingdom signed in late 2011, with Dr Mazen Almugbel of Albabteen United Foods Company and Mira Foods.

Founded in 1975, The Melting Pot currently has around 140 restaurants in North America and 33 international locations open, signed or committed for development in Canada, Mexico, the Middle East and Asia.