The first Vogue Café in the Middle East is set to open in Dubai late this year, publishers Conde Nast International announced on Tuesday. Readers of the high-fashion magazine will be able to enjoy themselves at the café that will be based in Dubai Mall, the Huffington Post reported on Wednesday.
The Café has strategically been situated where it will be surrounded by high-end designer stores such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Chanel, which are all extremely popular in the region.
Stuart Nielsen, director of Conde Nast’s restaurant division said: “The expatriate community and the local Emirati community are very conscious of brands.”
He added that “people always love to eat and drink, and we see an opportunity because they love fashion.”
Vogue is one of the many American brands that have been brought to the UAE. Dubai Mall has recently received the first branches of IHOP and the Cheesecake Factory which are both extremely popular and highly successful in the United States.
The menu for the café has been put together by Conde Nast Restaurants’ chef Gary Robinson, and will offer a selection of contemporary European food, but no alcohol will be served, the Huffington Post said.
However, cocktails and other alcoholic beverages will be available at another Conde Nast outlet intended to cater to male fans of its magazines such as GQ.
The publishers hope to open a bar based around GQ magazine in one of Dubai’s high-end hotels next year.
Conde Nast’s popular titles such as Vogue, GQ, and Vanity Fair are available in the UAE, however, there are no local versions of the same.
Through launching the café, the company hopes it will aid it to further expand the brand name of its titles worldwide, especially in the UAE, where people are highly fashion conscious.
There are plans to open another branch of the GQ Bar in Istanbul this year, as well as other branches in Bangkok and Singapore, with hope of opening more branches closer to Dubai such as Abu Dhabi and Kuwait City.
Conde Nast International, which publishes international versions of the American magazines, first set up its restaurant division in 2010. The company publishes more than 120 magazines in 24 international markets.
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