Al Farooj Fresh, a fast-casual restaurant chain owned by UAE-based halal food producer Al Islami Foods Group, has opened a new outlet in Lebanese port city of Sour in line with its regional expansion plan.

The new outlet at Sour city is Al Farooj Fresh's fourth consecutive branch in Lebanon while the fifth one is under set up process, said a top official at the launch ceremony held at Al Farooj Restaurant at Baydoun Centre in Abu Deeb.

'Lebanon is not a new market for us. Al Farooj was launched in Lebanon back in 2001, and with the success of our first branch, we have been watching country's econo-political atmosphere, waited and restarted building Al Farooj network in the country in 2006,' remarked Saleh Abdullah Lootah, the chairman of Al Farooj Chain of Restaurants.

The ceremony was also attended by Raja Hussein, the franchisee of Al Farooj in South Lebanon, the company management and many high profile invitees from the Sour City.

Sour is the fourth largest city in Lebanon and houses one of the nation's major ports. Tourism is a major industry in the city that has a number of ancient sites, including its Roman Hippodrome which was added to Unesco's list of World Heritage Sites in 1979.

'We have witnessed that the demand for quick service restaurants with Arabic heritage is growing in Lebanon, especially in country's increasing tourist population. We have found it the right time to expand Al Farooj branch network in the country,' stated Lootah.

With this launch, the total number of Al Farooj outlets across the Middle East has risen to 35.

The group, which has branches in UAE, Kuwait and Lebanon, is planning to launch its operations in other countries like Qatar, Egypt, India and France in 2012.-TradeArabia News Service