Atelier House Hospitality (AHH), the UAE-based high-end boutique restaurant and hospitality advisory group, struck a deal with Saudi Arabia-based Unified Hospitality for an aggressive expansion in the Kingdom.
The deal will see the partnership opening as many as 10 outlets of Mohalla – Atelier’s popular ethnic Indian restaurant chain – in Saudi Arabia over a period of time.
The two will also team up to launch a brand new fine dining Indian concept restaurant – Mantra – in Saudi Arabia.
Confirming the deal with Unified Hospitality, Atelier House Hospitality Group President Panchali Mahendra told Arabian Business that the Saudi group has taken a master franchise for opening 10 outlets of Mohalla in Saudi Arabia.
10 outlets of Mohalla in Saudi Arabia
“The first franchise outlet of Mohalla will be opened in Riyadh in the third quarter [of 2023],” Mahendra said.
“It will be one of the largest Mohalla outlets so far,” she said.
Atelier’s move to team up with the Saudi hospitality group comes close on the heels of it striking a deal with the UAE-based Around the Block (ATB) Investments last week to take over latter’s popular Mediterranean restaurant in Dubai – FAT Uncle.
Under the deal, first reported by Arabian Business, Atelier will take over the operational management of the restaurant, and also will offer advisory services to the promoters.
Atelier made its first move to enter Saudi Arabia last year with opening a branch of Mohalla in Riyadh.
The group’s move to team with a strong local player followed the overwhelming success of its first Mohalla outlet in the Saudi capital city.
“We are now working on a rapid expansion in the country and the deal with Unified is in line with it,” said Mahendra, who is known for bringing several high-end international food and beverage (f&b) brands to the UAE, besides conceptualizing and launching few original ethnic brands in the UAE and India.
The first franchisee outlet of Mohalla will be opened at the Riyadh Front, a high-end location which is known for its massive footfall traffic.
Regarding the plan for launching a new brand in Saudi Arabia, Mahendra said: “We will be taking over a concept and making a new restaurant all over.
“Mantra, the new brand to be launched, will be a very fine-dining Indian concept. This is a development project and we hope to open it by the end of the year with the same [Unified Hospitality] group,” she said.
Besides the aggressive expansion in Saudi Arabia, Atelier – which is affiliated with the New York-based Altamarea Group – also has plans to launch a new restaurant brand in Dubai later this year.
“It will be a special project with sustainability, art and underground cooking at its helm,” Mahendra revealed.
She said the new project is expected to be opened in October this year.
Mahendra, however, declined to disclose the name of the new restaurant project.
“This year is looking super amazing and hectic for us,” said Mahendra, who has featured in the Power 50 and the Power Women list twice – in 2020 and 2021.
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