Posted inTravel & Hospitality

Sunset Hospitality to open six venues this year in iconic Dubai locations

Expansion includes bringing the renowned Mott 32 Chinese restaurant to the 73rd floor of the Address JBR hotel

The group already operates 12 venues across Dubai, including Black Tap, Drift Beach Club, Lola Taberna EspaƱola, Azure and Mood Rooftop Lounge. Image: ITP Media Group

The group already operates 12 venues across Dubai, including Black Tap, Drift Beach Club, Lola Taberna EspaƱola, Azure and Mood Rooftop Lounge. Image: ITP Media Group

Dubai-based Sunset Hospitality Group is set to open six new venues in the emirate this year.

And thatā€™s on top of Goldfish Sushi & Yakitori, which launched in The Galleria Mall along Al Wasl Road, in Jaunary.

The group already operatesĀ 12Ā venues across Dubai, including Black Tap, Drift Beach Club,Ā Lola Taberna EspaƱola, Azure and Mood Rooftop Lounge, among others.

CEO Antonio Gonzalez told Arabian Business the expansion plans involved ā€œunique locationsā€ in Dubai, including The Palm Tower on Palm Jumeirah, at the Dubai Harbour development and in the new Address JBR hotel.

He said: ā€œOur bet has been on the human drive to socialise. I donā€™t think that has changed during Covid, if anything now we want it more than ever. We miss our family, we miss our friends, we want to hang out with other people. For now we are still restrained but I think when things go back to some sort of normality, it might take six months, a year, two years, whenever that is, I think weā€™re going to appreciate even more what we have missed for the last year or two years.

ā€œWe have doubled down on that, in the sense of, letā€™s make sure we create experiences that are unique, that our clients will appreciate and take a bit of an advantage, where other groups have been a little bit cautious in expansion, thatā€™s allowed us to secure better locations where we can create better experiences.ā€

First on the list is the Jumeirah Islands Clubhouse, which has been completely renovated and is scheduled to reopen in April. It will include Italian concept Isola Ristorante and popular gastropub Joeā€™s Backyard, as well as Chloe’s Beauty, Hair and Nails, Chaps & Co. Barbershop, and RAISE Fitness & Wellness.

Gonzalez said: ā€œWeā€™re very excited because it kind of fits very well with our strategy of creating an experience. When we first looked at the project we felt that it was a project that was a little bit let go, it had been there for many years and it was driven mainly by convenience, but not by what was really happening there.

ā€œItā€™s going to be a great addition for the whole area.ā€

Gonzalez revealed that SushiSamba, on the 51st floor of The Palm Tower and the Aura Skypool on the 50th floor, atop the soon-to-open St Regis Hotel, delayed from last year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, will launch in September this year.

Sunset Hospitality CEO Antonio Gonzalez.

While Sunset Hospitality will also be taking pride of place in the new Dubai Harbour project by Emaar projects ā€“ a 10-million-square-feet development off the shores of Dubai Marina ā€“ with plans to open a cafĆ© and Italian restaurant.

ā€œWe are doing a beautiful new restaurant in Dubai Harbour in the new development,ā€ he said.

And he revealed that ā€œfresh out of the ovenā€ are two projects in the new Address JBR hotel. This includes the internationally renowned high-end Chinese restaurant Mott 32, which has venues in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Vancouver and Las Vegas.

ā€œItā€™s a fantastic concept. Itā€™s the best Chinese food I ever had and we are very excited to bring it here,ā€ he said. The restaurant will open on the 73rd floor of the Address hotel in November.

A second venue in the hotel will be Dream, which Gonzalez describes as ā€œa festive restaurant with live entertainment, performanceā€, which will also open in Q4 2021.

While that makes up the expansion for Dubai, Gonzalez said there are further plans add to the companyā€™s international portfolio, which already includes spots in Kuwait and Bahrain. Sunset Hospitality will open the companyā€™s first hotel in Turkey in May, a beach club in Doha and two more Black Tap restaurants and the launch of Mood Rooftop Lounge in Qatarā€™s capital before the end of the year.

Sunset Hospitality will also be taking the Black Tap brand to Saudi Arabia, with the first branch scheduled to open in Riyadh in October this year.

Gonzalez said: ā€œLong-term it (the industry) will get back to normality. I donā€™t know what that normality will be but people will want to go out and socialise, meet friends, thatā€™s not going to go anywhere, thatā€™s going to be here forever.ā€

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