Meet Ekaterina Garetovskaya and Anastasia Kliachina, the dynamic duo behind Baloo Limassol, a unique family restaurant in the heart of Cyprus. These enterprising women made the bold decision to leave behind their successful restaurant chain in bustling Moscow, embarking on a new adventure in Limassol, drawn by its vibrant community, rapid development, and serene seaside charm.
Their relocation was driven by a desire to create a balanced life for their young families, and Limassol, with its significant Russian-speaking community and family-friendly atmosphere, proved to be the perfect choice. With extensive experience in the hospitality industry, including stints in top hotels and restaurants worldwide, Ekaterina and Anastasia saw an opportunity to fill a niche in the local market.
Baloo Limassol is not just a restaurant, as they say; it’s a haven for families. Here, parents can savour gourmet meals and cocktails while their children enjoy a safe, playful environment. The concept of a stylish dining spot combined with a dedicated children’s playground was inspired by their needs as working mothers. They envisioned a place where parents could relax and enjoy high-quality food, confident that their kids are having an equally enjoyable time.
Their journey from Moscow to Limassol has been filled with challenges, from navigating the complexities of the local business environment to overcoming logistical hurdles. Yet, their determination and innovative spirit have turned these obstacles into stepping stones. They have meticulously curated a menu with the help of renowned chefs, ensuring that every dish reflects their commitment to quality and simplicity.
We are about to explore how their passion for the hospitality industry and dedication to family values have culminated in the success of Baloo Limassol.
An urge for a kids-friendly space
What drew you to Cyprus and specifically to Limassol for opening your new restaurant?
Anastasia: Our decision to relocate was based on many factors and wasn’t easy – selling a successful restaurant chain in Moscow, finding a new home, new acquaintances, being far from the families and your routine.
The choice of where to find our new base was a difficult one too. We chose Cyprus considering it a great place for young families like ours, while Limassol as a city was chosen due to many factors – its development pace and services compared to the other places on the island, the size of the Russian-speaking community and proximity to the sea. It was first of all our personal decision to move here, and after we started to search for the open niches in the restaurant business in Limassol and that’s when we came up with the idea for our new restaurant business – a family restaurant with a kids’ play area.
What inspired you to open a family restaurant with a children’s playground inside? How did you decide on this unique format?
The idea derived from the kids’ segment being a niche market in Limassol as the city has proved to be the best place for expats with families. Being young working mums ourselves, we understood the urge for a kids-friendly space where parents can enjoy themselves while their children are taken care of. We are all aiming to be good parents, which includes both – spending quality time with your children as well as having time for yourself while still keeping the kids happy. Our project allows combining both. Baloo is a restaurant for adults (stylish, tasty, with an amazing cocktail and wine card), where one can hold a business meeting, come for a family meal or just enjoy one of the best matcha in town J while being 100% sure that your kid is having an amazing time in the playground area.
We are the first restaurant in Limassol in the segment of fine dining having a kids’ playground at sight. Having operated for one month we can say that the concept has proved its worth.
From Moscow to Agios Tychonas
What were the first steps you took once you decided to open a restaurant?
Once we set our minds towards the opening of the new project and finalized the concept, it was crucial to choose a location and find a venue.
Agios Tychonas is considered to be a tourist area with lots of nice hotels & resorts around as well as newly built apartment houses and many families residing in the area. It seemed a perfect combination especially because the district couldn’t offer a variety of places you can visit for breakfasts and nice food.
After confirming the venue, our Business model was tricky at that time as little did, we know about the local market and its peculiarities until we fully emerged ourselves in the process.
How has your journey from Moscow to Limassol impacted you personally and professionally?
Moscow and Limassol differ in all the ways possible. The first is a megapolis, with an immensely developed services industry, where you can get things done 24/7, people are under constant stress because of the amount of work. Cyprus, on the other hand, is an island with people who are not motivated by money, and who are content as it is. Adaptation to the local business took a while, it taught us to be patient, and embracing, have respect towards the island pace of living, not to stress about things you cannot change, and just go with the flow. It had an immense impact on the work-life balance and overall, became an eye-opening experience for us, who were brought up in a large city with a population of over 13 million residents.
Can you share more about your experiences working in other restaurants and hotels? How did these experiences influence your approach to opening Baloo?
We both have vast experience in the hospitality industry from different angles.
Anastasia: I started my professional journey in the big hotel chains – Metropol Hotel Moscow, Four Seasons Hotel Moscow, and Shangri-la Hotel Dubai in training and quality control departments, then realized that my passion within the industry lies more in the F&B sector. This drove me to continue my professional journey in big restaurant consulting firms in New York – Shift Hospitality, Seasoned Hospitality etc.
Ekaterina: I found myself in the F&B industry quite spontaneous. I was working for a VC fund in Dubai when the co-founder’s brother turned out to be a young and prospective Chef in the UAE, so the team decided to invest in opening a restaurant for him in Paris, Champs-Elysees. As soon as I heard about the upcoming project, I asked for the opportunity to be involved. That is how I became a part of EDERN restaurant and the F&B industry in general.
Gaining all the relevant experience, we opened a chain of fast-casual restaurants in Moscow (Fabbrica Pasta Bar) as our first project as business partners. Making a project from A to Z gave us a full comprehension of all the stages of the process. If you know how the machine operates from within, you know how to fix it if something goes wrong. Our management style was rather unusual, we were highly involved in the operational process, trying to understand every single detail. Selling the project was also a nice “school of life” as it made us put everything in order, see the bigger picture, and have the vision “from the outside”, which was enlightening in all ways.
That is how we decided to create our consulting agency – Restogene Hospitality and started to help launch new projects and manage and consult the existing ones.
The more experience you get around the globe, the easier your attitude to obstacles is, the more you learn from your mistakes. When opening Baloo, we put together all our knowledge and customers’ experience to make the product appealing to the public and ourselves.
Finding the funds
How did you secure this investment for Limassol? Did you have an investor or did you fund it yourselves?
We do invest our own money in the project, as well as attracting capital from the investor. The investor we have in Baloo restaurant is a well-known lawyer in Russia, a partner in a law firm “Ukov and Partners” who specializes in civil rights and the law of arbitral procedures – Victoria Daudrih. She used to be our loyal guest in Fabbrica restaurant and was eager to invest in the project’s expansion at that moment. As we made an uneasy decision to sell the chain due to our relocation, that investment didn’t take place.
As soon as we figured out the concept of the new project in Cyprus and drafted the financials, Victoria was willing to become a partner. Victoria supported the idea as she has managed to combine family and career and understands the importance of both. Thus, the three of us have drowned in this journey together.
What were the major challenges you encountered during the process of opening Baloo? How did you overcome them?
- Money transfer from Russia has been a huge issue for us, as all the investment money came from Moscow
- Opening bank accounts for a company with a Russian passport is almost impossible, we got rejections from almost every bank in Cyprus.
- Construction process – finding a contractor in good faith, the lack of supplies as our design project was made by a Russian architect bureau, the timing that hadn’t been complied with.
- Logistics & deliveries as most of the equipment and furnishing was ordered from abroad.
- Services standards: issues with finding qualified labour, checking the visa status, and legal criteria for hiring.
Was the process of getting all the necessary certifications and equipment for the restaurant easy?
In terms of certifications, we came across bureaucracy being highly developed in Cyprus. The necessary documents should be obtained in strict order, it takes ages to prepare and collect each of them. Moreover, you do not know where to start unless you are guided by a local. Luckily, our landlord was taking us from one authority to another, filling out the papers in Greek language, arranging the submission of the documents, and cooperating on relevant procedures.
All the equipment, decor and furnishing for the restaurant came from abroad. The kid’s play area was specifically designed and manufactured for us in the UK. After that, the pieces were sent to Cyprus by ferries. Our ferry was delayed, escaped from the radar system and was changed to another one before getting to the island 2 months later than planned.
The same was happening with the furnishing coming from Greece and décor deliveries from Indonesia. Being complicated enough as it is, the logistics process was immensely impacted by the attacks on ships in the Red Sea, almost doubling the delivery terms as ferries had to take alternative routes.
Delivering the menu
You brought in a chef to create the menu. How did you select the chef and what was the process of developing the menu like?
True, we brought the famous Brand Chef – Rouslan Poliakov (Remy kitchen, Muse, Pino, Amy) and Chef Ilia Stetkovich (Amy restaurant) from Moscow to develop the menu. Those who are familiar with their projects in Russia, understand that it was exactly the direction Limassol was missing. The concept we wanted to develop in terms of cuisine was “high-quality simple food for every day” and we had a complete understanding with the Brand Chefs regarding this. Baloo’s menu consists of positions like octopus & baked potato, green salad with avocado, beef stroganoff with mashed potato, syirniki. That is the kind of food you do not get tired of.
When the guys came from Moscow, they had around 90 dishes in mind for the menu. We had to cut it to 60. There were a few surprises regarding the products along the way, like finding sweet tomatoes, raw tuna, crab or nice lamb. Some of the kitchen equipment had to be brought from abroad and still was no good to use here.
Nevertheless, we had a lot of fun in the process, enjoyed ourselves and created the menu with love. It is so important to work with like-minded people. We are lucky to have a young, passionate, talented team on board.
What has been your experience with food delivery and maintaining a supply chain in Cyprus?
We are still in the process of putting this in order. Some of the suppliers at the island are monopolists, – if they have logistics problems, there is no way you can find a substitute. For example, alternative milk, the very specific cottage cheese we use for syirniki etc
Buying in advance and keeping an item in question in storage is a bad practice as it requires more space, and makes it more difficult to see the real financials of the project as it increases the percentage spent on goods. Also, most of the suppliers don’t work on weekends and public holidays which makes it more complicated for the Chef to make estimations for the orders.
Our Chef is in constant search of new suppliers, searching for the back-up for the challenging items. Some of the products are delivered from Larnaca and Nicosia, the solution to others is yet to be found.
What has impressed you the most about Cyprus in terms of opening and running a restaurant here?
We have worked in big cities and megapolis but the local mentality indeed took us by surprise. We didn’t expect the influence of the different cultures to be so strong in every step of the way.
The main interest in opening our place in Cyprus and the major lesson we have learned is not to underestimate the country’s specifics when you are dealing with people. Starting from employees to authorities, Cypriots have their vision, very distinct from the ones we used to work with.
Even in terms of marketing, the best advertising you can get in Limassol is word of mouth.
Dare to start
Given that a significant percentage of restaurants opened by Russians close within 6-12 months, how do you plan to ensure Baloo’s longevity and success?
In our experience, most restaurants cease to exist because of
- Either poor financial planning – however brilliant the idea and execution are, you shouldn’t overlook the fact that it takes time to develop the project and attract loyal customers, and
- Poor operational management – this includes lots of factors, however, the quality of food and service are the two titans that keep the restaurant afloat. Maintaining those will help to create a base of loyal customers. In the case of Baloo, the kid’s play area helps keep focus on attracting the right target audience.
Since the opening, we have been told, that a restaurant opened in Cyprus by a Russian team is a quality mark, so it gives certain advantages in the beginning. However, the first impression fades, so it is crucial to keep up with the consistency of food quality and good service.
What are your plans for Baloo and potentially other ventures in the restaurant industry?
We are aiming to keep improving Baloo in all ways possible until it reaches the level that fully satisfies us and the customers. As the concept is proving itself, we would like to expand it through other big cities in Cyprus – Larnaca, Nicosia and Paphos.
The island still has lots of niches available for development and we do see huge potential for new opportunities. For instance, fine dining chef’s table experience or membership-only elegant first-class cuisine and entertainment. It is an amazing feeling to be able to turn your ideas into reality, to grant emotions and to develop the city for the people who live there.
What advice would you give to others who are looking to open their restaurant, especially in a foreign country?
Ironically, the one advice we usually get from different restaurateurs around the globe before opening is “Do not go there, do not open a restaurant. You do not want to put it on yourself”. We, on the other side, want to encourage entrepreneurs to go for it! Dare to start, take that risk, if that’s what excites you, if that is your passion! You will be facing lots of troubles and obstacles on the way and will want to quit at some point, but it is 100% worth it.
