Following the Covid-19 pandemic and the sharp decline in tourism and hospitality revenue, many hotels are being forced to either shut down or improvise.
Sarova Hotels and Resorts has been one of the worst hit this year and now they are seeking to reverse course.
The chain has opened two restaurants in Westlands, separate from its main hotel business.
Sarova has partnered with Urban Eatery and this week launched The Kitchen and Chiso at Delta House.
Chiso will serve Japanese, Malay, Thai, Indonesian and Chinese food while The Kitchen, which will offer Western, African and Indian food.
“Taking our cuisine brands out of our hotels and making them stand alone restaurants is our latest new development,” said Jimi Kariuki, Sarova managing director.
“This has been a very challenging year for the hospitality industry. But despite this, we at Sarova have seen this as an opportunity to innovate and to be creative through ‘exporting’ our cuisine experiences outside of our hotels.”
It is the first time they have opened a restaurant outside their hotel premises, which puts them in direct competition with other upscale eateries like Artcaffe, Java, Urban Burger and Nyama Mama.
“We feel the market has become quite sophisticated in terms of cuisines and that’s why we decided to venture outside the hotel,” Mr Kariuki said.
“Urban Eatery is a trendy dining space which offers different kitchens that offer different cuisines. Sarova have taken up two of the kitchens which will be branded.”
According to Sarova, the prices in these two restaurants will be 15% lower than in their hotel restaurants.
