The prominent Ethiopian hospitality brandKuriftu Resorts and Spas, has opened one of the biggest seaside restaurants in the heart of Djibouti city.
The company, which has become well known for its chain of recreation destinations in Ethiopia over the past ten years, has officially opened its luxury restaurant featuring global cuisine.
Tadios Getachew, the Ethiopian born diaspora who lived in the US and owner of Kuriftu Resorts and Spas, said that the eatery can accommodate 400 people as a restaurant or up to a thousand people as a cocktail reception spot.
The restaurant rests on 2000sqm and was inaugurated a week ago in the presence of top government officials in Djibouti. The facility is considered to be a big opportunity for expanding tourism in the east African nation and attracting more Ethiopian tourists or people who have visited Ethiopia.
“We are venturing out of Ethiopia because we want to be an African brand. We have been receiving many brands from all over the world but we have never been able to export our own Ethiopian brand to the rest of Africa or somewhere else before,” Tadios told Ethiopian journalists who visited the restaurant a few days before its official inaugural.
According to the owner this is the second venture for Kuriftu in Djibouti, the first one is on 65.3 hectares of land at Moucha Island, which is a 15 minute boat ride away from Djibouti’s capital. The project, which is under construction, includes a massive recreation facility on a beautiful natural white sand beach. It is a location where people can view whale sharks, dolphins and exotic fish. The company has received 653,000 square meters of land on the island, including 250,000 square meters of thick forest.
He said that the restaurant has consumed two million USD, while the resort investment is close to USD 7 million.
“Djibouti will benefit from this value added investment and Ethiopian tourism will benefit because blue water, white sand and sea food are rarely available for Ethiopian tourists, expats and Ethiopian residents but now they only have to fly 45 minutes to experience all this,” the owner of Kuriftu said.
“Tourism in Djibouti will also benefit from this because whatever Djibouti does not have Ethiopia can provide. Ethiopian, Kenyan and Djibouti airlines can package this as a destination to promote the region,” he added.
So far Kuriftu has 11 operational businesses that employ 3,000 people in Ethiopia. It is in the process of opening the largest water park in the country.
“We want to be a chain of resorts, spas and restaurants all over Africa,” he added.
Kuriftu Resorts Djibouti’s hospitality project will maintain the same standard and a similar style to Kuriftu Resorts in Ethiopia. One of the qualities of Kuriftu is the architectural design of shades in the resort.