Zuma has opened the doors to its second branch in the UAE at Sowwah Square, Abu Dhabi.
The opening marks the first time two Zuma restaurants will be located within an hour’s drive of each other, according to managing director Middle East Ajaz Sheikh.
He said he had been looking for an Abu Dhabi location for the brand for the last two or three years. On picking Sowwah Square, Sheikh said: “We have already seen the success in Dubai in a financial centre. You know you have a target audience, you can’t really go wrong with that.”
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The venue has an independent tourism license, choosing to go through this alternative route rather than licensing through a hotel. Sheikh says the new outlet will mirror the DIFC venue in terms of driving traffic all week.
Its general manager, Ilir Caushi, has worked with Zuma Dubai for five years. Reif Othman extends his current role running the Zuma Dubai kitchen to become executive chef for Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Members of the back-of-house team include head chef Pawel Kazanowski and head sushi chef Masaharu Kando, who specialises in making traditional Japanese nigiri sushi.
Other employees include assistant bar manager Mehmet Nursur and reception manager Julia Kerschbaumer, who previously worked with The Lanesborough, London, as an events manager.
World-beating bartender Jimmy Barrat extends his role to become regional bar manager, whilst Adrien Callier, Dubai’s resident DJ, will perform at Abu Dhabi regularly, in addition to new joiner Margarita Deviatko, who will rotate between the two venues.
“As a company we like to open up restaurants with a core team. Around 30-40 staff here have been wih Dubai, and majority have been with us for four or five years, so the DNA is already there,” Sheikh added. The staff has been training in Dubai from November 2013.
“I want to hit the ground running. The bar is higher for us because there has never been a Zuma an hour away from another. Our benchmark is Dubai and that is already quite a high one,” he said.
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