F&B interview: Yas Marina GM Cedric Le Rest

Caterer Middle East recently spoke to Yas Marina general manager Cedric Le Rest about the venue's upcoming F&B developments and how the future is looks like smooth sailing:

So, what are the new concepts at the Yas Marina Island - tell us more?
We will have five new venues. One will be Spanish tapas and Tex-Mex restaurant Diablito Food and Music, which will be located in one of the independent units with a rooftop. Then we will have an as yet unnamed seafood restaurant, managed by the same team of Ornina Restaurant and Lounge in Abu Dhabi.

We also have: Café d’Alsace, a brassiere-style café and bakery serving French-German specialities; a Lebanese restaurant called Rozanah; and Iris, a well-known Beirut based rooftop lounge and restaurant. Plus Stars ‘N’ Bars and Cipriani are set to return.

What is the target audience of these concepts?
With the mix of restaurants I just mentioned, it is everyone. We want to target everybody whether local or not, because the community around the Marina and the island is really growing. The local community is quite diverse — whether it’s expats or UAE nationals. And of course, the international market as well. The island has seven hotels and with events like the signature Formula One, it sees a lot of international customers.

How much business will come from the yachting community?
The main activity of the marina is berthing, as you know, and we also provide free berthing under four hours. We will invite people from everywhere to come to the Marina and spend four hours at any of our restaurants, and afterwards they can just keep going on their way. This idea is something we really want to promote and get the property used by boaters.

How were the concepts for each outlet decided upon?
As you know, we are adding five new restaurants to the property — some of them are international, and some of them local. When picking concepts, we looked at what was available in the island and around the other destinations close to the Marina and looked at what was missing, what was the gap. And then came up with this mix.

How did Yas Marina go about attracting the international restaurants to this venue?
Well in terms of entry for international restaurants, Yas Marina is a very good opportunity, and we are certainly the first such destination within Abu Dhabi. It is a perfect venue to open a first restaurant. Location is important ... the fact that it is diverse and we have a community around the island is certainly an important factor for each operator. And it was one of the selling points as well.

When are these outlets scheduled to open?
Everything is on time and will open at the beginning of October. We have got a major date to aim for, which is the Formula One. The restaurants will definitely be open in time to showcase the venue at the biggest event within the island and maybe Abu Dhabi.

Why after only three years is such a major revamp of the F&B underway?
Yas Marina opened in 2009 and since then British company Camper and Nicholsons Marinas took over the property in 2011. We were looking at the property and saw that we were missing something within the destination and the offering. The Marina was doing very well but something was missing, so we decided to do the changes.

What’s happening to the two existing F&B venues?
With Star N Bars the only enhancement is that we are extending the terrace. We also had two restaurants on the same floor operated by Cipriani but two different names. Cipriani has decided to take the full floor under one name to increase the offering to the customers.

How do you plan to market and establish Yas Marina as a dining destination?
First by marketing the property — and our first big activation is F1 because we will have thousands of people who will use the property during this time. Some will be from Abu Dhabi and Dubai so they will be able to see the new property and spread the word here. We have also been working with the team from Yas Marina for a calendar of events. It’s very important that we have got sustainable events on a weekly basis. People need to know that every week, say on Fridays, there is an activity happening here which will draw them in.