The UAE Restaurant Community, founded by Dubai-based restaurateur and hospitality tech expert Leo Komissarov during the lockdown, has brought restaurants together and created three new businesses already, which support the local HORECA industry.
Dubai, 22.2.2021
What did you do during the great Dubai lockdown earlier in 2020? While others were baking banana bread, watching Netflix back-to-back, or learning new skills, Dubai-based entrepreneur, restaurateur, and CEO of iiko POS, Leo Komissarov, didnt think twice and started a support group for restaurateurs in the UAE, who were struggling with the effects of the COVID-induced downturn.
The UAE Restaurant Community started as a humble Whats App group on 1st April 2020, but quickly outgrew the messaging platform and found a new home on the Internet. The group currently has 523 members from more than 901 brands and 6,172 outlets in the UAE.
Far more than just a chat group or industry support forum, the UAERC is actively working to support its members and the HORECA industry in the UAE by addressing challenges head-on and creating solutions. To date, three new businesses were started through the UAERC: GoFood an online food ordering and delivery app run by restaurateurs featuring market beating low commission charges, Tawreed an online HORECA marketplace, which allows restaurants to order everything they need on one platform and save up to 20% on their purchasing costs, and Pronto a last-mile delivery service.
Our goal is to resolve an issue in 15 minutes instead of days by using the power of the community and technology, says Leo Komissarov and continues Restaurateurs are currently divided and communicate little with each other. We believe that one day, tens of thousands of restaurateurs from around the world will be united in a community in order to develop themselves, their restaurants, and the industry as a whole.
The UAERC also played an important role in the creation of the Dubai Chamber approved Dubai Restaurant Group and many UAERC members are active in both groups. For 2021, the UAERC has set itself high goals and wants to ensure that all its members benefit fully from the upturn in business in the UAE.
