The opening of the new Shawarmer restaurant at King Abdulaziz International Airport marked a major milestone on the facility's journey to full operations. Shawarmer, one of the largest and fastest growing locally-owned and operated restaurant groups in the Kingdom, is the first food service provider to open in the 800,000-square-meter transportation hub that is expected to attract more than 30 million visitors, Haj and Umrah passengers annually to Saudi Arabia's Western region. The new airport is one of the largest of its kind in the world and one of the most significant infrastructure projects in Saudi Vision 2030. It will serve as a central hub for tourism, transportation and economic development that will strengthen the connection between the Western region and the rest of the world. "We are proud to mark the 20th anniversary of Shawarmer in Saudi Arabia by being a part of the foundation of what will be a true Saudi landmark. With the tens of millions of people who will come through this airport every year, being a part of KAIA from day one presents a tremendous opportunity to continue to build the Shawarmer brand and introduce more people to the love of the modern shawarma," said Abdulmohsin Al-Rabiah, CO-CEO and founder of Shawarmer and its parent company, Innovative Foods. Shawarmer is a homegrown Saudi restaurant chain rated by consumers as the most popular shawarma brand in the Kingdom and is best known for exploring innovative and creative interpretations of the beloved Arabic street food the shawarma. The brand's popularity is built on its commitment to the use of fresh and natural ingredients to create unique and distinctive variations in sauces, flavors and sandwich styles inspired by a wide range of international food trends. With the opening of the new KAIA restaurant, Shawarmer has grown to more than 90 locations in 20 cities across the Kingdom with more than 1,500 employees. The company's recent expansion has focused heavily on Saudi's Western region, including several new locations in Makkah, Madinah and King Abdullah Economic City, all of which will be directly connected via rail to the new international airport. "KAIA is an excellent example of the Vision 2030 infrastructure development strategy that's driving economic growth and encouraging companies like Shawarmer to make long-term investments across the region. The economic impact of KAIA is one of the primary reasons why Shawarmer identified the Western region as key part of an ongoing expansion strategy that has seen us nearly double the size of our business in just a few short years," Al-Rabiah said. — SG
