Comptoir Libanais
Since 2008, Comptoir Libanais has been serving healthy and affordable Lebanese and Middle Eastern food to customers across the UK and Europe.
Founded by Tony Kitous, Comptoir Libanais first expanded across London before branching out to other parts of the UK. Earlier this year the brand made another significant step when it opened its first restaurant in the west midlands. Located at Birmingham’s Grand Central shopping centre, this Comptoir Libanais site totals 3,047 sq ft and has space for approximately 100 covers.
Comptoir Libanais venues are colourful and distinctive in their design, leaving a lasting impression. To carry out the design of this particular site, Comptoir Libanais turned to experience design consultancy Studio 48 London. CCO Gabriel Murray spoke to Premier Hospitality about the look of the Grand Central site:
“We’ve worked with Comptoir Libanais since the early days and we’ve developed many of their restaurants and stores around the UK and in Europe. Along with Tony Kitous, we helped develop the current concept.
“Each of the Comptoir Libanais stores is unique to the location. There were considerations made to the situation at Grand Central because it’s a mall over a major travel hub. We had to take all that into consideration in terms of things like the type of seating we would have in the restaurant. We needed to have seating for long dwell time as well as short dwell time.
“At the front of the store there’s a higher traffic area where more of the retail product sits and there is a higher paced energy. As you go further back into the restaurant it becomes more of a long dwell time. We’ve created this unique little area that’s screened off and it’s a nice little area to sit in. It’s got booth seating as opposed to regular seating for groups of people.”
A very open shopfront means passing customers are given a full view of large format graphics that adorn the walls.
The food offering at any Comptoir Libanais is centred on fresh, healthy and affordable meals. From unique Lebanese breakfasts to a sumptuous dinnertime selection, Comptoir Libanais is an all-day destination.
Reflecting on Studio 48 London’s relationship with Comptoir Libanais, Gabriel added:
“We love working with Comptoir Libanais because they’re a dynamic, fun client to work with and are open to new ideas. They are constantly developing their concept. There are a lot of ideas out there that are static and have a cookie cutter approach to the way that they expand their business. Each Comptoir Libanais, whilst it has the same kind of set up in terms of an operational standpoint, there are also opportunities to develop the design and add more aspects.“
Since its launch in 2015, Grand Central has established itself as one of the country’s leading retail and dining destinations, ideally located adjacent to the iconic Bullring in Birmingham city centre. Also situated directly above New Street Station, the busiest train station outside of London, Grand Central is home to a number of aspirational brands, including John Lewis, Jo Malone, The White Company, Cath Kidston, Hobbs, MAC and Joules.
