Start-up success

Top row (L-R): Rami Badawi, Amber Haque, Sergio Lopez, Tahir Shah and Tom Arnel. Bottom row (L-R) Yousef Al-Barqawi, Alexandra de Montaudouin and Emma Sawko.

Finding a Gap
Everyone wants to start a restaurant these days — but what makes your idea stand out from the rest? There has to be some thought put into the food and location as well.

One of the reasons many entrepreneurs say they started shop was to provide personality and that personal touch. Tom&Serg co-founder and managing director Tom Arnel states: “The UAE food scene is way overpopulated with franchises and large multi nationals. Their businesses are robotic and lack personality, which is absolute key to a successful F&B business.

We wanted to start something that was people-driven, transparent and honest. There was a massive portion of the public who were tired of what was now becoming the norm, so we decided to get as far from the glitzy and glamorous side of Dubai as possible. So we chose the industrial area, Al Quoz, as our perfect location.”

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Comptoir 102 co-founder Alexandra de Montaudouin was inspired through what she thought was a missing element. She says: “When we first moved to Dubai we found it quite difficult to eat out healthily. Coming from New York and Paris, we were struggling to find those organic, healthy little restaurants offering vegetarian, sugar-free, dairy-free and gluten-free options.”

When Haque and her husband Rami Badawi realised what was missing was authentic New York style pizza, they decided to jump into the fray. But food wasn’t all, says Haque.

She adds: “Another gap we identified was exceptional service. Rami has a background in F&B with the Ritz-Carlton Hotels in the United States, where the genuine care and comfort of guests was the highest mission. We really wanted to offer that same commitment to service in an accessible environment, changing what people expect from the pizzeria experience.”

Moti Roti founder Tahir Shah also found a gap, he says, as he was tired of the limited choices he had for lunch, and adds it was always a coffee shop or supermarket food that many offices had to deal with. “I thought it shouldn’t be hard to find good food which was affordable and quick for those working in a desk-lunch culture.”

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