Back in May I posted that Nando’s, the popular South African franchise was coming to Kuwait and looks like it's now official. Yesterday two opening soon hoardings came up, one at The Warehouse Mall and a second one at Al Kout Mall announcing that Nandos will be opening this December. Nandos originally opened at The Avenues back in 2007 but ended up closing down shortly after. This time @apparelgroupofficial are bringing them back, the same company that has Tim Hortons and Jamie's Italian (which is also opening in Kuwait).

South African restaurant chain Nando’s has reported that it has sold nearly 70 percent of the seats at it's new The Dubai Mall venue for its New Year’s Eve celebrations in front of the Burj Khalifa, with seats costing up to AED2,500 ($680) per person. “It is probably the most happening strip facing Burj Khalifa. On the promenade we have 80 seats which are priced at AED2500 per seat,” George Kunnappally, managing director of Nando's UAE, told Dubai Eye’s Business Breakfast radio show in an interview this morning. Nando’s opened a new outlet in The Dubai Mall last month, positioned on the promenade just in front of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building and one of the city’s most popular sites for New Year’s Eve fireworks. “It is an amazing view of the fountains and the Burj Khalifa and from 8pm until midnight you can enjoy as much as you like of our hot favourites… Of the 80 seats we have on the promenade, 60 on the terrace and 100 seats inside, we have sold out almost 70 percent of them in the last four days,” he added. Restaurants and outlets in The Dubai Mall traditionally boost their prices on December 31 as demand rises ahead of the annual fireworks display at Burj Khalifa at midnight. According to a report by The National, fast food chain Five Guys is charging up to AED1,500 and International House of Pancakes is charging AED1,150 per person, while coffee shop Starbucks is charging up to AED1,200, including food and beverages. This week, it was announced Burj Khalifa will mark its 10th anniversary with a spectacular light show on January 4. The specially created show aims to dazzle visitors with a colourful interplay of designs and motifs while there will also be surprise gifts for visitors to At the Top, Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall.

International dining chain Nando’s believes it can add as many as eight new UAE locations in the next few years, bringing the total number of outlets in the country to 30, according to its country manager. Nandos, which first came to Dubai in 2011, currently has 22 restaurants – which it terms “casas” - across the UAE. “While we would love to be among the top three brands when diners think of eating out or taking away or even ordering from the comfort of their homes or offices, when it comes to grilled chicken, we wish to be the undisputed number one choice,” said George Kunnappally, managing director of Nando's UAE. “Nando’s can go up to 30 casas over the next few years, but we are very cautious in choosing our sites and the communities we would like to be a part of.” Kunnappally added that larger restaurants of between 3,000 and 5,000 sq ft are “slowly becoming a thing of the past” and said that smaller restaurants of between 1,800 and 2,000 sq. ft will be more commercially viable going forward. “We are also interested in exploring the events and catering segment via a modified container kitchen or possibly a trailer,” he said. Additionally, Kunnappally said that Nando’s hopes to raise the percentage of women in its regional workforce from 19 percent today to 40 percent by 2020, and grow the percentage of its revenue from deliveries from 20 percent to 30 percent in the next six months “by increasing our fleet strength in Sharjah, Al Ain and the Northern Emirates, where we believe there is still untapped potential.”