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Abrakebabra Investments Ltd. or AIL Group is a company behind a group of Irish fastfood franchises. The history of the group goes back to 1982 when the first Abrakebabra was opened in Rathmines, Dublin.
The AIL Group operates a number of different franchise formulas in the Republic of Ireland and UK. [1] It has over 180 outlets across their different brands and was voted 'Irish Franchise of the Year' in 2008/2009 and again in 2016 by the Irish Franchise Association. [2] [3]
Abrakebabra is a fast-food restaurant offering a wide selection of kebabs, burgers, loaded fries, baguettes and sides. Restaurants are located all over Ireland, on the high street, shopping centres and more recently in Maxol fuel stations. Most restaurants are eat-in or take-away but there are a few outlets that also offer delivery. [4]
The Bagel Factory was created in 1996 and the first shop opened in 1997 as "Great American Bagel Factory". This first shop was in Endell Street in London. Initially not set up as a franchise formula: the first shop had a bakery in the basement, the shop on ground level and the owner living in the apartment above the shop. [5] In now trades as just Bagel Factory and has 26 outlets in Central London, Reading, Edinburgh, Dublin and some major travel hubs in both countries. [6]
Chick King is an Irish-based franchise formula. As part of the AIL Group the official head-office is at the AIL address in Rathmines, Dublin but actual operations are led from Newbridge, County Kildare. [7] In 2008 it was voted as 'Best Emerging Franchise' by the Irish Franchise Association.
O'Briens operates over 100 outlets all around the republic. [2] Many of the stores also offer catering services and it also has some stores in offices that are not open to the public (for example at KPMG office at St. Stephens Green in Dublin. [8] The concept is offering 'made to order' sandwiches and also offers the portfolio from sister-company Bagel Factory.
YO! Sushi brought the Japanese style of kaiten sushi bars to the UK: delivering the freshly made sushis via a small conveyor belt that travels at 8 cm/s and customer sitting at the bar can just pick whatever they like from the belt. Yo! was the first company to bring this method to the UK market in 1997. [9] AIL operates the Irish franchise organisation, the companies worldwide operations are managed through Yo!'s headquarters in London.
All Irish operations had ceased by 2017.
Gourmet Burger Kitchen, sometimes shortened to GBK, is originally a concept from New Zealand. [10] As of June 2013, it operates 7 outlets in the republic: 5 in Dublin, one at Dublin Airport and one in Newbridge.
AIL sold the franchise back to the parent company in 2016.
Ginza is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous internationally renowned department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses located in its vicinity. It is considered to be one of the most expensive, elegant, and luxurious city districts in the world.
Nando's is a South African multinational fast casual chain that specialises in Portuguese flame-grilled peri-peri style chicken. Founded in Johannesburg in 1987, Nando's operates over 1,200 outlets in 30 countries. Their logo depicts the Rooster of Barcelos, one of Portugal's most common symbols.
Dunkin' Donuts LLC, doing business as Dunkin' since 2019, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg (1916–2002) in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1950. The chain was acquired by Baskin-Robbins's holding company Allied Lyons in 1990; its acquisition of the Mister Donut chain and the conversion of that chain to Dunkin' Donuts facilitated the brand's growth in North America that year. Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins eventually became subsidiaries of Dunkin' Brands, headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts, in 2004, until being purchased by Inspire Brands on December 15, 2020. The chain began rebranding as a "beverage-led company", and was renamed Dunkin', in January 2019; while stores in the U.S. began using the new name, the company intends to roll out the rebranding to all of its international stores eventually.
O'Briens Irish Sandwich Cafe, also known as O'Briens, is an Irish franchise sandwich cafe chain founded in Ireland in 1988 by Brody Sweeney. As of October 2009, O'Briens was operated by the AIL Group, who owns Abrakebabra.
Rathmines is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to the south, Ranelagh to the east, and Harold's Cross to the west. It is situated in the city's D06 postal district.
Eddie Rocket's is an Irish restaurant chain, with its headquarters in Dublin. It offers American-style food in 1950s' style diners. It is owned by Rocket Restaurants Limited.
Bruegger's Enterprises, Inc. is a restaurant operator and subsidiary of the Luxembourg-based company JAB Holding Company. It and its wholly owned subsidiary Threecaf Brands Canada, Inc., are franchisers and operators of Bruegger's bakery-cafés, and Michel's Baguette.
Mister Donut is an international chain of doughnut stores. It was founded in the United States in 1956 by Harry Winokur. Primary offerings include doughnuts, coffee, muffins and pastries. After being acquired by Allied Domecq in 1990, most of the North American stores became Dunkin' Donuts. Outside of the United States, Mister Donut maintains a presence in Japan, El Salvador, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Singapore.
YO! Sushi is a chain of conveyor belt sushi restaurants, principally in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Australia.
Abrakebabra is an Irish fast-food restaurant chain established in Dublin, Ireland in 1982.
Brown Thomas & Company Limited is a chain of five upmarket department stores in Ireland, located in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Dundrum. Together with Dublin's Arnotts department store, it is owned by UK-based Selfridges, which in turn is owned by Thai Conglomerate Central Group and Austria's Signa Holding.
Perrystown is a suburb in South Dublin, Ireland. It is in the Dublin 12 postal district and is adjacent to the areas of Crumlin, Greenhills, Kimmage, Templeogue, Terenure, and Walkinstown.
Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) is a chain of luxury restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland specialising in gourmet burgers. There is a subtle Kiwi theme throughout the restaurants, a reference to the heritage of the original owners.
Eason Retail PLC, known as Easons or Eason, is an Irish retail company best known for selling books, stationery, cards, gifts, newspapers and magazines. Headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, it is the largest supplier of books, magazines, and newspapers in Ireland.
MTY Food Group is a Canadian franchisor and operator of numerous casual dining, fast casual, and quick service restaurants operating under more than 70 brand names, some of them through wholly owned subsidiaries. Headquartered in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent, Quebec, the number of outlets carrying MTY brands reached 5,500 in 2017. Stanley Ma is the group founder, President and CEO. MTY Food Group's brands include Thaï Express, Country Style, Groupe Valentine, Vanelli's, Extreme Pita, Cultures, La Crémière, Sushi Shop, Veggirama, Caferama, O'burger, Tiki Ming, Vie & Nam, Au Vieux Duluth Express, FranxSupreme, ChicknChick, Croissant Plus, Koya Japan, Kim Chi, Panini, Tandori, Tutti Frutti, Villa Madina Mediterranean Cuisine, Sukiyaki, Taco Time, Yogen Früz, and the Canadian branch of TCBY.
There is a Japanese community in the Columbus, Ohio area.
Camile is an Irish restaurant chain, serving Thai cuisine. Originating in Dolphin's Barn, Dublin in 2010, the chain was co-founded by Brody Sweeney. The chain, which operates via a franchise restaurant model, has since expanded throughout Ireland and the UK, with 45 locations as of 2021. As of June 2021, it was also reportedly expanding via a "partnership" model in the United States.