Popular global brand Wagamama opens third restaurant in Doha

In a memorable opening on October 16, 2022 at Doha’s Place Vendôme, Ali Bin Ali Hospitality opened its third outlet for Wagamama restaurant, one of the global brands it stewards in Qatar.

In his statement during the launch, Ali Bin Ali Hospitality Group General Manager, Mr. Bassel Salim Ammar, noted that he was thrilled about the opening of the new eatery. “Vendôme is one of Qatar’s best-known and luxurious shopping centers, and therefore a perfect choice for opening the new outlet,” he said. He added that the ambiance of the new location only adds to the allure of the restaurant and it is expected for more customers to visit.

The story of Wagamama began in early 1992 with the opening of the very first restaurant in London’s Bloomsbury, which was inspired by traditional Japanese noodle bars and Asian inspired flavors. In Qatar, the brand has captured the attention of its guests with its exciting and inclusive casual dining experience with a stylish and contemporary setting.

The new Wagamama restaurant promises unique experiences for diners as it offers exclusive menus, set-up, and ambiance, among other exquisite features that resonate with the Place Vendôme. The Place Vendôme is one of Qatar’s lavish malls that exudes grandeur and style.

The new branch reaffirms the restaurant’s continued dominance and popularity among food enthusiasts, who seek memorable experience with their most desired cuisines. The new joint will continue to reinforce Wagamama’s philosophy of a “positive eating and positing living” for all.

Ali Bin Ali Hospitality celebrates successful implementation of FORWARD

After going live with the Group’s ERP FORWARD project in February 2019, it was time for Ali Bin Ali Hospitality to celebrate the success implementation of the solution in the division.

On May 23, 2019, the ABA Hospitality team led by General Manager Mr. Philippe Tardieu, FORWARD Project Sponsor Mr. Mohamad Ebrik and members of the FORWARD PMO gathered to applaud the achievement.

Opening the event, Mr. Tardieu welcomed all and said: “We are very happy with the FORWARD solution and would like to thank our entire Finance team and the PMO team for making this possible. More modules will be added to the system soon, making the work process more efficient in the division. We are very positive about this new system.”

Mr Ebrik said, “Hospitality is one of the latest batches of the ERP project and we have reached here today because of everybody’s dedication and hard work. However, this is not the end. It is the start of a new journey to use the system to its full potential. There will be another few months of stabilization period to make sure all tools of the system are put to full use. It is important for the team to know the system really well so that they can extract, analyze and then provide feedback to the business to move forward.”

All members of the small team from ABA Hospitality who were involved in the FORWARD project gave their very best to make the transition a success. The simultaneous process of opening new restaurants, implementing a new solution and integrating it with the existing one was not an easy one. Recognizing this feat and acknowledging their contribution, the heroes from the division were also awarded at the event.

Ahmed Abdelbaki – Finance Manager, Gururajan – Accounts Supervisor, Irshad Hassan – Accounts Supervisor, and Razzak Hossain – Senior Accountant, were handed certificates by Mr.  Tardieu.

A banner designed like a food cart was set up in line with the theme ‘FORWARD – the new secret ingredient of change’. The team members placed jars, indicating the key ingredients of FORWARD, on the cart to complete the visual.

The FORWARD ERP application will mainly support the Finance and Procurement functions of the Hospitality division. The restaurant chains will be using the Micros system to handle Point of Sale (POS) services but it will be integrated with FORWARD.

Ali Bin Ali Hospitality attains new heights, receives Food Safety Management System ISO 22000 certification

Adding another achievement to the Ali Bin Ali (ABA) Holding portfolio, the Ali Bin Ali Hospitality division has been awarded the Food Safety Management System ISO 22000 certification. With this, Ali Bin Ali Hospitality became one among the top hospitality companies in Qatar to receive the recognition.

 

The certificate was ceremoniously handed over on August 1, 2018 by Bureau Veritas Certification Qatar at a private event held at ABA Hospitality’s fine-dining restaurant, Em Sherif Qatar.

 

The award was handed over by the Chief Executive Officer of Bureau Veritas Qatar, Mr. Selim Kseib, to General Manager of ABA Hospitality Mr. Philippe Tardieu. 

 

Mr. Tardieu thanked his team for their efforts and said, “Ali Bin Ali Group is investing a lot in the hospitality industry. To support this growth, it was an essential part of our strategy to create a safe and quality foundation for our food business. We wanted to ensure our expansion with the best international practices. Food is pleasure for the senses but its quality is critical for our business reputation. ISO 22000 is the ultimate recognition of our standard. It not only validates and adds value to our efforts but also encourages us to seek excellence in our everyday operations.”

 

Mr. Kseib congratulated the Ali Bin Ali team and said; “It was a pleasure working with ABA Hospitality. I would like to compliment the team on achieving the ISO 22000 mark in less than six months. This is an achievement in itself. This coveted certification truly reflects the high level of commitment and leadership from Ali Bin Ali Hospitality to benchmark best international practices in Food Safety Management Systems. We take great pride in this association with ABA and truly see ABA as an esteemed strategic partner in promoting the culture of Excellence in the State of Qatar.”

 

ISO 22000 is a standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization dealing with food safety. This international standard specifies requirements for a food safety management system where an organization in the food chain needs to demonstrate its ability to control food safety hazards in order to ensure that food is safe at the time of human consumption. The certificate integrates the principles of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system and this makes ISO 22000 the highest form of accreditation in the industry.