The crème de la crème of coasts. Once a ridiculously long and chillingly empty stretch of land with a few humble residential compounds dotting its shores, Sahel has come a long way since its beginnings. Today, the word Sahel elicits thoughts of azure beaches, unparalleled nightlife experiences … and culinary perfection.

The summer-long “Sahel season” sees mns of tourists, most of them Egyptian, with an increasing number of regional and international visitors. Demand is sky high, but it’s not a year-round destination just yet. How do Sahel’s F&B players keep up, what is standing in their way, and what’s missing?

HOT & FRESH FOR THE SUMMER-

More tourists, bigger appetites. As the North Coast continues to grow rapidly and multi-bn USD developments rise, demand for F&B services is growing as more people spend longer vacations on the Mediterranean. Ras Al Hekma alone has its eyes set on 8mn tourists annually upon completion. That’s going to make Sahel an opportunity for both established and rising F&B players.

The proof is in the pudding. Some of Cairo’s most famous hot spots either started their journey in Sahel, or found their big break there. The earliest days of TBS were on the shores of the Mediterranean. Pào was a modest truck parked at The Drive by the Waterway before making the trip up north in the summer of 2023 — a move which would eventually see the boba hotspot take over the coast. Further proof? One look at Hacienda-born and now-viral burger chain BRGR should suffice, and Brown Nose Coffee (arguably the best cup of joe on the coast) got its start up here.

Big names get bigger. Kiki’s, The Lemon Tree & Co, The Smokery, Sachi, and let us not forget the classic Sahel nightspot of yesteryear that started it all — the iconic Andrea — have only grown bigger season by season. But growing a food and beverage business in Sahel isn’t an easy proposition.

MOVING PARTS-

When it comes to operations there’s no easy way to do it. You’ll either go the food truck route — the model with relatively lower risk — or you break the bank for a dine-in location. In both cases, you’re going to face challenges. Both capital and aspirations come into play here. Nascent brands will likely opt for food trucks, because “they cost the least,” says food consultant, architect, and chef Nesma Mohamed, a Sahel veteran who has brought to life coastal brands including burger hotspot 101B. This year, she’s bringing RVRS to life.

Things can get ugly pretty quickly: “When you start off in Cairo, you essentially have a back-up. In our case, we had to do everything in Sahel,” Mohamed tells us. Over three summers, she has had to jury-rig her own central kitchen and train a staff to work around equipment failures promoted by a still-unstable electricity grid.

Finding the right staff — and housing for said staff — is also a hurdle, and a costly one at that, Mohamed tells us. Salaries and accommodation for staff come at a hefty price tag, and transportation as well. Is it all worth it?

“There’s a sort of spiral of silence around Sahel, and I want to break that,” says PerihanSaleh, chef at Gracias. Saleh notes that there’s a pressure to hide losses from the masses — and they are substantial, she says. Saleh shared Mohamed’s qualms about staffing and rent, but she’s also concerned about a thinning out of her target market.

The sprawl of Sahel is a double-edged sword, Saleh says: Until around 2022, Sahel's prime F&B zone was a concentrated 40-kilometer stretch, roughly from Hacienda to Ghazala, she says. This meant that despite operational costs being significantly higher, the high concentration of visitors and fewer competitors made it a worthwhile investment. The outward expansion of Sahel has diluted her target market at the same time as more competition has driven up rentals costs. Transportation expenses, meanwhile, have crept up as fuel subsidies have been lifted and distances get longer.

When Saleh did call Sahel home, she operated through her own central kitchen. That came with its own set of problems — problems that Mohamed now faces. “There’s no provider" for a central kitchen in Sahel, she notes. Food transport is a challenge (refrigerated trucks are difficult to come by) and the costs of transportation add up quickly.

Then there’s rent: A massive contributor to the costs of any F&B outlet, where operators need to navigate unreasonable landlords and the pressure to stay on the coastal side of the highway. Rents are cheaper on the desert side, but electricity is even more unreliable there, contributing to a higher volume of equipment failures.

Even big players find it challenging. “We face a lot of challenges in terms of staffing and recruiting. The problem is that everything changes year to year, and you find yourself having to revisit your infrastructure,” Lina Gaballa, brand manager at TLT Concepts, tells us. TLT operates brands including The Lemon Tree, Rituals of Zoya, Gouna’s Villa Coconut, and a line of hotels.

Who pays the price for these hiccups? The customer. “Before jumping into the Sahel F&B scene, I always thought everything was overpriced. I soon realized it was justified,” Mohamed tells us. “It’s how you end up with an EGP 600 burger,” Saleh adds. Even then, you don’t know if you’ll even break even. If you’re keeping up with the subtle changes, however, you might have better luck.

Bottom line: While Sahel may not be the place where F&B brands initially make the most money, it’s a launchpad — a place in which to make a name for themselves and then expand to the capital city and beyond. After all: They have a captive audience with the country’s highest purchasing power who are largely in vacation mode for two months and willing to splurge a little.

HOW THE F&B MARKET IS CHANGING UP NORTH-

The North Coast is transitioning beyond its role as a seasonal, casual dining hub. A lot factors into this push, including a rise in demand for elevated culinary offerings, the inflow of Arab tourists, and a growing emphasis by developers on representing brands that go beyond just food — witness SODIC’s plans to launch a Marriott Tribute Portfolio hotel as well as a hotel and residences under the Nobu brand, both in Ras Al Hekma.

“We’ve seen a huge influx of regional tourists. The industry and the market have changed dramatically in the last couple of years,” The Smokery Group Chief Marketing Officer Alexandra Henein tells us. “We always thought the North Coast was a very local, Egyptian thing, but now in June, most of our clients are actually foreigners. You have a lot of people that come from the GCC countries,” she adds. Those visitors, she notes, need no introduction to San Carlo, the international franchise Smokery has brought to Sahel.

“Last year, an influx in tourists [from the Gulf] led to us stay open for longer. We see this happening this year as well,” TLT Concepts’ Gaballa says. Gulf visitors are also influencing what’s on the menu, she says: “At The Origins of Le Sidi, we introduced more [Egyptian] breakfast for the GCC community.”

It’s no longer enough to serve good food. It’s about experiences, too, Henein notes: “You have huge acts and International DJs coming to Sahel this summer. So I really think we’ve seen a big evolution in entertainment and in cuisine.” To make it big in Sahel, you need to bring the big names in. And it’s not just about nightlife anymore. “People are leaning more and more towards morning events. We’ve seen that shift in behavior,” Gaballa explains.

Developers know this, and they’re actively on the hunt for high-end F&B experiences to integrate into their projects. Misr Italia Properties, for example, is introducing Eatery — an already-established and beloved brand — to Solare Beach Ras Al Hekma this season.

Misr Italia is playing to an ongoing shift in consumer behavior and the gravitational pull towards familiar names. “We're seeing everything from young families looking for quality time and meaningful experiences by the sea to trend-savvy urbanites seeking well-curated dining and entertainment options,” a company exec told us.

Competition is making it harder to stand out: "Everyone who opened until 2022 made it big — after that the competition got too fierce. To make it big [now], you have to offer something cool,” Saleh says.

At Ramla by Marakez, for example, a slightly different approach has been taken when it comes to high-end F&B experiences. Instead of going after international brands, they are putting together a curated local lineup of Egyptian cultural icons like Azza Fahmy and Mounir Neamatalla to develop concepts for a Azza Fahmy Beach Clubhouse and an ecolodge based on Neamatalla’s philosophy for the famous Siwa landmark Adrère Amellal set to open in 2028. This summer they are also partnering with When We Eat to bring in international, award-winning chefs for a series of fine dining experiences on the beach.

A YEAR LONG AFFAIR?

One thing that would make operating in Sahel easier? For it to become a year-round destination, says TLT Concepts’ Chef Mirette Aly believes. Aly notes that operating all year long would give F&B outlets the opportunity to spread costs out. It would also see more connective tissue built between the various players in the industry. “We do see this [eventually] happening with the amount of investments and all the infrastructure being built around Alamein and the coastline in general,” Gaballa says.

"I don't think [a year-long presence in Sahel] is possible. Maybe in the future,” Henein says. “For the time being, I do not think it’s possible due to culture, weather conditions, infrastructure and not enough international tourism yet.” she adds. May, September, and October are slow months for food businesses. Don’t even think about the winter months.

What if — like El Gouna — Sahel had its year-round community? What changes would have to be made to support F&B businesses across the coast? Proper infrastructure, including better roads, specialized logistics providers (think: refrigerated transportation), and a stable electricity grid. We’d also need to see cloud kitchen providers, which in turn, would go along way to relieving operational pressure.

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