Dubai: For UAE-based Lebanese expat Firas Fawaz, the dream of being a food entrepreneur wasn’t achieved overnight. It was a growing love of exploring new varieties of food right from childhood that kindled his entrepreneurial spirit while progressing in an 11-year-long corporate career.
“From an early age, discovering new cuisines and learning about food always interested me. Before I knew it, it became a hobby and I realised soon after that my love for food has turned into a real passion,” said Fawaz, who is now the founder of Italian fine-dining restaurant ‘The Artisan’, which was listed in the Michelin Guide this year in Dubai.
Fawaz, however, wasn’t unfamiliar with the ins and outs of operating a restaurant business when he started his current entrepreneurial venture. Prior to that, the restaurateur was involved in the food sector in Dubai for a while, helping operate a number of UAE dining concepts.
Born and raised in Lebanon, where he graduated in marketing, he started his career as a marketing executive for a luxury furniture brand and then worked as a PR consultant. He was then the business development manager at Dubai-based restaurant-focused investment holding company Ginza Group.
From an early age, discovering new cuisines and learning about food always interested me
Surviving the pandemic-induced restrictions
With Dubai being home to 13,000 diners — the most in any city in the Middle East region, more than half of the residents dine out up to three times per week post-pandemic, according to 1,730 residents surveyed as part of the study conducted by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET).
As a result, restaurant owners have seen a significant spike in reservations now that COVID-19 rules have been relaxed. However, prior to this, in the face of pandemic-induced challenges, businesses like Fawaz’s had to adapt to survive.
“Like any other business, we could not escape the challenges faced by the pandemic, however, we were able to restrain the losses by implementing new strategies and seeking new opportunities,” he said, while going on to explain how he went about it.
“For instance, investing in our product research was one of the strategies we adopted. We added a few pizzas to our menu, which are made with 72-hour fermented dough, and this allowed us to offer home delivery to customers. Managing operational cost was another challenge since we couldn’t fully operate the restaurant, yet we made it through the difficult times by tracking costs stringently.”
How was the restaurant venture funded?
When asked about how Fawaz funded his restaurant’s initial investment, whether it was from savings from his earlier job, by pooling money with a business partner, or raising funds from other investors, he revealed how multiple means of funding were required when launching his business.
“The project was funded by friends and family in addition to my own contribution which was a vital element to show skin in the game. However, developing the restaurant was a challenging journey,” he explained.
“I never wanted to give people what they are used to, instead to offer them something new through bringing a true Italian flavour to the city. Therefore, such a venture was overwhelming and challenging from an investment perspective and the roll-out stages.”
The restaurant was funded by friends and family in addition to my own contribution
Is it hard for a food entrepreneur when starting out?
Although Fawaz admitted that his entrepreneurial journey was not always easy, he attributed that without determination in the face of dire circumstances, overcoming the challenges faced at the start of a business was difficult.
“Being in the restaurant or diner business requires a lot of creativity and knowledge in order to stand out and offer a new concept to the market,” he explained.
“There were always challenges coming our way in this business, be it the pandemic or relocating to a new location in the Waldorf Astoria hotel DIFC, amid all difficulties that we manage to overcome when trying to adapt accordingly.”
Can you offer budding entrepreneurs some business tips?
When quizzed whether Fawaz had any advice for those looking to become their own bosses and start a similar businesses on their own, these were his thoughts when reflecting on his personal experience as a food entrepreneur since 2015.
“I believe that there are many things an entrepreneur needs to consider when starting a business. The first is passion and knowledge; that and the right knowledge can take you far as you’re aware of the key components needed to create a foundation for the business and can hire the right staff and find the correct suppliers, especially for an F&B [Food & Beverage] fine-dining concept,” explained Fawaz.
“The second is consistency and persistence. Having a genuine approach means that you hold onto your concept and fight through the tough times and ensure quality is maintained. For my restaurant, when making key decisions about staff and product, I always kept that in mind when choosing each component, be it the interior design, the food ingredients or even the cutlery guests use.”
