More than 26 years after opening its first restaurant, Il Forno has grown from a single Italian kitchen in Abu Dhabi into one of the UAE’s established homegrown Italian restaurant brands
a journey shaped by consistency, professionalism, family values and the vision of its Founder, Chairman and CEO, Mr. Hussein Abed Samhan.

The Beginning of an Italian Story in the UAE

The UAE’s quick-changing restaurant sector has seen trends rise and fall, concepts change and customer demands constantly evolve. Establishing a restaurant is one thing, sustaining a brand for over 25 years is another.

That’s when the story of Il Forno started in the year 2000.

Mr. Hussein Abed Samhan was inspired to open the Il Forno from his love for Italian food and his experiences traveling to Italy. He viewed Italian eating as more than just pizza and pasta. It was about love, generosity, craftsmanship and the way that food connects people to a Shared Table.

That philosophy evolved into the basis of Il Forno. In 2000 the first restaurant opened in Abu Dhabi, and the goal was unmistakable – to offer an Italian experience in the UAE based on true Italian flavors, good ingredients, warm service and hospitality and a very high degree of quality.

There were no shortcuts to building the brand. Each plate served, each customer welcomed and every operational decision made helped create a reputation – one restaurant turned to two, two to several and eventually one restaurant was a known name throughout the UAE.

In all of those phases, professionalism was at the heart of the business.

Growing Without Forgetting Where It Started

Twenty-six years later, the scale of Il Forno is very different. Its principles are not.

The brand now has over 30 stores in the UAE, catering to communities in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other Emirates. But it’s not just about restaurants being added. It’s the expansion of marketing without compromising the brand identity, standards and customer experience that have built it.

At this level of consistency, it’s more than just recipes. It takes systems, training, supply-chain management, experienced teams, operational discipline and a company culture that has everyone aware of the standards they should be striving to meet.

The restaurant industry evolves around it, but Il Forno evolves. Digital ordering was added to the customer journey. How people got their food ordered was transformed by delivery platforms. Technology came into the restaurant business, menus, point-of-sale systems. Consumer preferences changed and competition intensified.

While doing so, Il Forno adjusted to those changes, but didn’t lose sight of what it’s all about and what it’s based on: the good food, the consistency, the professional service and the experience that makes customers want to return.

The Man Behind the Brand: Mr. Hussein Abed Samhan

Mr. Hussein Abed Samhan, Founder Chairman and CEO of Il Forno Group, is at the heart of the Il Forno’s story.

His journey is an integral part of the company’s journey. Mr. Hussein has been very involved in the direction, standards and growth of the business since 2000 when he opened the first restaurant, and has continued to be involved in the development of the network of over 30 restaurants.

The core of his leadership philosophy is based on perseverance, loyalty, quality and people. Along with the expansion came a challenge not only to open additional locations of Il Forno, but to ensure that customers could visit other locations and still know what to expect – a level of quality, hospitality, and professionalism – that is unique to the original brand.

That needed more robust systems, better training, reliable supply chains and, most importantly, the right people. It also meant that you knew when to change. Il Forno, under his guidance, has adopted the new technology, digital ordering and the trend of customization in dining, and developed its offerings and customer experience to this day.

The number of restaurants opened is but one of the most important achievements that Mr Hussein has made. It’s creating an organisation that can have a founder’s standards that extends through dozens of sites, hundreds of employees. Italian restaurant in Dubai

Building People Alongside Restaurants

The people who don’t get much recognition in restaurants but are essential to the success of every brand are the chefs who preheat the items before the restaurant opens, the operations team that ensures the standards in every restaurant, the purchasing and logistics team that gets the products, the restaurant manager who runs each branch of the restaurant, and the service team that greets customers every day.

This development has thus been, in part, a tale of its people at Il Forno. Professionalism, teamwork and development continue to be key aspects of the culture surrounding the brand.

This relationship was especially noticeable when trying times occurred, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, when the hospitality industry was under an unprecedented challenge. Resilience and disciplined leadership were needed to safeguard the business, people and the future of the brand.

It is a people-driven vision and quality that has been alive in Il Forno since its beginnings: the organisation has grown significantly but it retains the features of a family-founded business.

Recognition Along the Journey

There have been signs of recognition along with growth. Throughout its journey, Il Forno has been recognized by the industry for its food, hospitality and contribution to the UAE dining sector and has recently won awards to mark the continued growth and increased visibility.

However, the story of the awards is not enough. One of the best indicators of success for a restaurant business that’s long in the tooth is, well, being long in the tooth itself.

Il Forno has been enjoyed by generations of customers. A patron who patronized a restaurant years ago with his/her family could now come back with his/her family. A marketing campaign is not enough to establish that relationship. It’s created by millions of little moments, experienced over a long period of time.

From Restaurant Brand to a Wider Business Vision

The entrepreneurial path after Il Forno eventually went beyond restaurant business.

Along with the development of the business, the need for increased control, reliability and consistency among the supply chain helped to the development of another sister company Excellence Food Stuff Trading within the food supply and wholesale sector within UAE.

Excellence applies to restaurants, hotels, cafés, caterers and other food-service businesses, and it’s the same commitment to quality, consistency and reliability that helped make Il Forno great. The development shows how a need in the restaurant business can become a broader business opportunity.

Muay Thai Fight Club (MTFC) has also branched out into other areas of the business family.

As a completely different sector, MTFC takes the group’s entrepreneurial spirit to fitness, combat sport and personal development. On the surface, it’s easy to see that an Italian restaurant, a food distribution business and a Muay Thai training center have little connection. It is easier to understand their relationship in the light of the philosophy behind them.

Il Forno embodies the art of hospitality and the art of cooking. Excellence Food Stuff Trading is a symbol of supply, reliability and infrastructure of successful food businesses. Muay Thai Fight Club is a symbol of discipline, strength and personal development.

What makes these three businesses so compelling is that the entrepreneurial journey started in 2000 as a single restaurant and has subsequently expanded and diversified to create the larger business story.

26 Years Later, the Journey Continues

The difference between success and success is that there is becoming successful and staying successful.

Il Forno has been a force of change in the UAE for over 20 years! Cities expanded. New communities emerged. Consumer habits changed. Technology transformed hospitality. Foreign brands of restaurants entered and competition became more sophisticated.

Through those changes, Il Forno went on its way. This was a company that expanded from a single restaurant to over 30, bolstered their associated businesses, adopted technology and found a way to move into new communities, all the while remaining true to the ideals that led to the opening of the first Il Forno.

So, for Mr. Hussein Abed Samhan, it is greater than the number of restaurants with the name Il Forno. It’s the culture, structure and history of this name.

A restaurant was established in 2000 in Abu Dhabi. Little did you know that more than 25 years later, that restaurant is now a success story in the United Arab Emirates.

Today, after 26 years, Il Forno remains a place of growth, development, family and standards and professionalism from day one.

“From one restaurant in 2000 to a nationwide UAE brand the Il Forno story is ultimately a story of consistency, people and professional standards.”

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