Publisher of Vogue to open cafe in Dubai

Publishing house Condé Nast International, known worldwide for its titles — Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Tatler and The New Yorker, among others — has finally decided to enter the market here with the Vogue Café and coffee lounge. It expects to open the Vogue Cafe at the Dubai Mall this year. It will be the company’s first such cafe in the Middle East, where luxury fashion labels such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Chanel are extremely popular among the region’s well-heeled shoppers. “The expatriate community and the local Emirati community are very conscious of brands,” said Stuart Nielsen, director of Conde Nast’s restaurant division. “People always love to eat and drink, and we see an opportunity because they love fashion.” Situated at the 96,000 sq ft shoe district at The Dubai Mall (which will be operational from October 2012, and will be stocking over 250 luxury and high street brands), the café, is being launched in association with the Inspired Group — known in the UAE for food and beverage management.  The menu at the café has been put together by Conde Nast Restaurants’ chef Gary Robinson, and will offer a selection of international cuisines. Conde Nast opened a similar cafe in Moscow in 2004. It has since opened two other establishments tied to its brands in the Russian capital. Even though Conde Nast’s popular titles are available in the UAE, there are no local versions of the same. The café is the company’s initiative to further expand the brand name of their titles worldwide, and especially in the UAE, where people are so fashion conscious. From : Khalij