Casper & Gambini’s debuts in Saudi Arabia

Will open in Bahrain, Erbil, and Sudan

Local restaurant-cafe 'Casper & Gambini’s' will be opening its first fully-owned outlet in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (KSA), this July. The diner also plans to open four franchised outlets in Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, Irak (Erbil), and two company-owned locations in Sudan (Khartoum) during 2013 and 2014.

“We are still in negotiations regarding expanding to other countries in the MENA region, such as Oman and the UAE, and in other markets, including Angola, Georgia, and the US,” said Roy Maroun, Business Development Director at Ant Ventures, the company that owns 'Casper & Gambini’s', 'Eatalian', 'Tarator', 'Silver by C&G', 'Falafel & More', and 'From the Tree'.

'Casper & Gambini’s' is already present in Kuwait through three standalone branches, delivery services, and two dining stations. It also has four branches in Egypt and one outlet in each of Qatar and Jordan. “We believe that our brands have a good potential to succeed in every market, however some adaptation is needed in order to match the concept with the culture of the market we are expanding into,” Maroun said. The budget of the expansion plan is estimated at $9.5 million.

Ant Ventures has already signed deals with Pine Wood for Restaurants in Bahrain, Capital Group for Development in Erbil, and Central Hospitality Group in Sudan. The company had also signed an agreement for international expansion with the KSA-based Zahid Group.

Locally, 'Casper & Gambini’s' has five branches: ABC Ashrafieh, ABC Dbayeh, Verdun, Beirut Souks, and Hamra.

Ant Ventures plans to expand its other concepts as well. “Over the coming 24 months, ten new ‘Falafel & More’ branches are expected to open in the KSA, Kuwait, and Qatar, and three new branches will be launched in Lebanon,” said Maroun. 'Eatalian' and 'From the Tree' are next on the company’s expansion strategy.

“Our head office in Beirut is currently managing local and overseas outlets in cooperation with our franchisees and key people in each operation,” he said.