Tashas Group has struck a AED100 million ($27 million) three way partnership with UAE developer Arada to open not less than 10 new eating places throughout the Gulf over the subsequent two years. The deal bets that demand for premium eating is transferring past the department stores and downtown districts of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The partnership, shared completely with Arabian Enterprise, will see the group’s flagship Tashas café idea and the soon-to-launch Café Sofi open in Sharjah, Al Ain, Ras Al Khaimah and Nad Al Sheba. The primary shops will debut from December, together with a Tashas at Arada’s Aljada group in Sharjah.
The deal displays shifting demographics and tastes throughout the UAE, the place inhabitants development, the Golden Visa programme and master-planned communities are driving life-style spending in secondary cities.
“Tashas cafés are community-driven, all-day eating ideas catering to a broad demographic,” stated Natasha Sideris, founder and chief govt of Tashas Group.
“In Dubai and Abu Dhabi, we’re strategically situated in residential areas, away from the high-end restaurant clusters. Our Abu Dhabi location is the Group’s high performer, persistently drawing robust footfall all through the day. We imagine these new markets are well-positioned to embrace our manufacturers which are unique however don’t exclude.”
For Arada, the enterprise underscores its technique to combine F&B into its lifestyle-first developments. A spokesperson instructed Arabian Enterprise that Aljada’s East Boulevard already hosts almost 100 shops and drew eight million paying guests final yr. “There’s clearly vital curiosity in rigorously curated life-style sights with the right combination of F&B choices,” the spokesperson stated.
Aljada is Sharjah’s largest ever mixed-use mission, spanning 24 million sq. toes.
Alcohol-free profitability
Not like a lot of Dubai’s high-end eating places, all the brand new venues below the Arada partnership shall be non-alcoholic.
“Our cafés are targeted on offering an all-day menu and expertise which lends itself to extra seatings and covers than alcohol-serving eating places the place individuals linger and keep longer, and we all know it really works,” she stated.
“We do unbelievable margins with out alcohol and a few of our greatest performing shops within the Center East resembling Tashas in Abu Dhabi and Tashas in Jumeirah are alcohol-free. Nevertheless it’s probably not an exportable mannequin past the area.”
The technique faucets right into a wider development within the Gulf, the place many lifestyle-led communities are constructed round wellness and family-oriented areas. It additionally positions Tashas Group to serve a broad swathe of shoppers, together with girls, households and worldwide residents who’re extra comfy in alcohol-free environments.
Café Sofi debut
The Arada deal will even deliver Café Sofi, a brand new idea from Tashas Group, to the UAE market following its debut in South Africa later this yr. Impressed by Sideris’s mom, Sophia, the model is designed as a “deeply private” culinary enterprise with a menu that mixes traditional salads, truffles and nostalgic dishes with a recent twist. The UAE launch is predicted in 2026.
Growth economics
Whereas the three way partnership carries a price ticket of AED100 million, Sideris stated returns will differ throughout manufacturers and websites.
“That’s a troublesome query as it’s depending on the model in addition to the scale of the situation. The focused payback would even be depending on a lot of elements,” she stated when requested about per-site funding and payback intervals.
The corporate’s expertise in Abu Dhabi, the place Tashas has turn into its top-performing outlet, offers it confidence in Sharjah, Al Ain and Ras Al Khaimah. These markets, historically neglected for premium eating, at the moment are seeing a surge in demand as builders place their initiatives as locations in their very own proper.
The UAE’s meals and beverage market is forecast to develop 18 p.c yearly between 2025 and 2030, reaching AED194 billion, in response to Mordor Intelligence.
Arada’s hospitality arm already operates partnerships with manufacturers together with Enhance Juice, Hungry Wolves and Em Sherif. The tie-up with Tashas Group, which operates almost 40 eating places internationally, provides a design-led, premium café idea to its portfolio.
“With this three way partnership, we’re not simply increasing our portfolio, we’re reinforcing our dedication to growing well-rounded communities that deliver individuals collectively,” stated Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, Arada’s group CEO.
The primary opening below the brand new three way partnership, Tashas Aljada, is scheduled for December 2025.
