Vogue publisher Condé Nast moves into on-trade

Published: 15 March, 2013

Magazine publisher Condé Nast, owner of glossy titles including Vogue and GQ, is moving into hospitality with a string of restaurants and bars around the world backed by its famous magazines.

Vogue Café will open next month in Dubai and will be situated within the Dubai Mall, a luxury shopping centre dedicated to upmarket shopping brands, and is aimed at ex-pats, and locals who eat out as often as five times a week, said Stuart Nielsen, director of Condé Nast Restaurants.

The Espresso Bar will open on March 19, while the café itself is due to open on April 14.

"Vogue Café Dubai is our first step into the Middle East market, and together with the GQ Bar, forms an integral part of Condé Nast International's strategy to expand its media brands into restaurants and bars around the world," he said.

Condé Nast has had three outlets in Moscow for over 10 years, which cater to an upmarket clientele, but has only recently decided to roll the concept out to other destinations, as it wants to see how they go, said Nielsen.

"We are not planning to be the next Planet Hollywood, we want to take our time and get it right."

While the branding throughout the group remains consistent, the look of each individual outlet differs, although 30% of the menus are standardised. This gives the restaurants considerable scope to draw on local culture and cuisine for inspiration.

In Dubai, Condé Nast Restaurants has teamed up with the food and beverage management company, Inspired to act as joint operating partners.

Other Condé Nast openings in the pipeline this year include Singapore and Bangkok, while GQ Bar Istanbul was opened recently.

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