A Keane vision

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Aiden Keane, founder and CEO of concept design firm Keane Brands.

Aiden Keane, founder and CEO of Keane Brands, has a very high regard for the ability of the United Arab Emirates to put projects together and get them accomplished quickly, but he feels that what Dubai lacks is enough mid-market restaurants and hotels.

"The whole F&B market started by importing things and that got it started, then hotels started bringing in premium restaurants to justify the prices. But if you want a grown up meal with a glass of wine you can't get it," says Keane.

Keane pointed out that most places to eat in Dubai are destinations-people have to make an active decision to go to a particular venue, make reservations and get in the car and go.

In contrast, many cities in Europe and America offer multiple eating choices within each neighborhood, in a range of price points and styles, , from fine dining to casual, which offers people much more choice without having to put in a lot of effort.

Many European and American cities also have circuits-areas of town specifically dedicated to restaurants and bars, and often pedestrianised.

While licensing laws prevent this from happening in Dubai, Keane also feels there is a big market here for more mid-market non-franchise dining.

"What I think would be popular is bringing alive the traditional Arab restaurant- something fun and cheap. The market here is getting braver, they are willing to consider something without gold taps, but operators are restricted in what markets they can get into," Keane points out.

Keane adds that he feels the market here could easily support, "Five, six, seven or even ten times what it's got, but they have to start bunching [restaurants] together."

Suggests Keane, "Why couldn't you open up a food mall, like they have in Singapore, with low cost food stalls and people walking around outside. When costs are low, revenue can be low."

Keane believes the big growth area for restaurants in Dubai is going to be in outlying districts and in projects with a difference. "F&B is massively undernourished and it is all the usual suspects," he points out, adding, "close your eyes and you could be anywhere, no one is looking at the integrity of development and linking it to lifestyle and soul."

Soul, and the lack of it, is a big issue for Keane, who argues that there needs to be more local eating, drinking and hanging out options for people to turn to in order to foster a greater sense of community in Dubai. With this sense of community, Keane feels, will also come a greater sense of being settled, and ultimately a more cohesive and comfortable place to live and work. Points out Keane, "You can't buy soul, it's dead easy to kick Dubai, but we didn't see Venice, or New York or London when they were 20 years old."

To be fair, says Keane, operators are now beginning to get the idea, although it is still an uphill battle. One problem that operators face is finding high-quality staff. Keane has found that more and more hospitality operators are starting to pay higher salaries in order to recruit more experienced staff.

"There is a desperation to pay staff more for more style. More operators are looking to get ahead of the competition with great design and great staff," says Keane.

The lack of stand-alone venues and liquor licenses is definitely a problem, Keane feels, and is slowing development of mid-range outlets with style, and neighborhood restaurants where people might go, not for a special meal, but every week.

Keane also laments the lack of off-the-wall concepts and operators who are willing to take a risk, but acknowledges that without alcohol, many concepts simply will not work here. "Dubai hasn't got its own thing, it hasn't got a style of its own. It needs to be a bit more grown up-it still feels a bit small town," he says.

While the Dubai dining sector still has a ways to go, in Keane's opinion, he also feels that one advantage of Dubai is that things move fast. He points to the amazing variety of architecture in Dubai as an inspiration, and a sign of where the restaurant industry could be if it was able to develop in more directions, "It's a shame that what they are doing with architecture can't be applied to food and drink."

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