UAE’s Just Falafel To Open 57 New Outlets In Europe

UAE-based restaurant chain Just Falafel is set to open a further 57 restaurants in the Benelux region, which includes Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

“Europe is an important region for Just Falafel, as it represents an area of significant demand for Middle Eastern food,” said Just Falafel’s chief executive officer, Fadi Malas.

“The interest in our franchise offering has been overwhelming as we have a unique concept that is very compelling to prospective franchisees,” he added.

The stores will be operated by Wadi Degla Holding, an Egyptian based conglomerate with a presence in the European region. The restaurants are scheduled to be operational in the coming year.

Just Falafel has been on an aggressive growth drive and recently announced plans to expand into the United States and Canada with five area franchise agreements with different partners in New York City, New Jersey, Kentucky and San Francisco in the US and the Greater Toronto Area in Canada.

Overall, the company plans to open 160 new restaurants in North America over the next five years.

The franchise also opened its first Australian branch in March, and plans a further 20 branches in the UK.

The company began with a single store in Abu Dhabi in 2007, and currently has 46 restaurants with signed agreements to develop more than 720 outlets in 18 countries. The brand offers all the ethnic varieties of the Middle Eastern snack falafel.