Retail & Beyond Commercial Investment LLC Expands F&B Portfolio Dubai-based gourmet café and delicatessen Pantry Café has opened its new venue at Bay Square in Business Bay.

By Aby Sam Thomas

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Pantry Cafe

Dubai-based gourmet café and delicatessen Pantry Café is the latest in a series of local eateries in the UAE who, after the success of their initial enterprises, have moved on to launch new branches in the country. Pantry Café, an outfit of Retail & Beyond Commercial Investment LLC, had opened its first location at Al Wasl Square in 2012, and is now opening up a new venue at Bay Square in Business Bay.

Image credit: Pantry Cafe

"As a local startup, being able to open a second branch is a testament to our business model," says Yana Kalwani, Vice-Chairperson, Retail & Beyond. "Pantry Café prides itself on serving local and organic produce where we can in our dishes- which is at the heart of our business vision. Following the opening of the second Pantry Café, we look forward to future expansion in the UAE in the coming years." With Pantry Café's expansion already on the cards, Retail & Beyond is also pushing forward with its plans to open two new restaurants in the UAE this year- these include Bu!, a Pan-Latin lounge at World Trade Center in Abu Dhabi, and a Japanese-Peruvian fusion concept at Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.

Aby Sam Thomas

Entrepreneur Staff

Former Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur Middle East

Aby Sam Thomas is the former Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur Middle East. Having started working on the brand in November 2014, Aby was responsible for leading the publication on its editorial front until September 2024.

In his nearly-decade-long tenure at Entrepreneur Middle East, Aby played a key role in its growth and development across the MENA region, with him developing and executing events, programs, and other initiatives under the brand's banner, while also personally representing it through his appearances in conferences, media, etc.

Aby has been working in journalism since 2011, prior to which he was an analyst programmer with Accenture, where he worked with J. P. Morgan Chase's investment banking arm at offices in Mumbai, London, and New York. He holds a Master's Degree in Journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York.  

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