The gourmet franchise Jones the Grocer is now peddling its wares in Abu Dhabi. Jessica Hume pays it a visit
If it's the ingredients that make the meal, the ambitious at-home chef just got a serious upgrade in materials. It isn't visible from Muroor Road or 15th Street, but at this intersection, just behind the first row of buildings facing the road, is Jones the Grocer - the first of this Australian gourmet chain to grace the UAE's luxury-loving city.
The centrepiece of the store is its deli. Almost all the items on its menu can be bought to be prepared at home. Among them, Wagyu beef burgers, a Wagyu pie, fish of the day, fresh pasta (on the day of the visit it was chilli squid linguini), mushroom risotto and a lamb shepherd's pie.
Inside the small but impeccable shop are shelves full of rare and delectable goods. Alongside the deli's hot meals and sandwiches, there are housewares and cookbooks - all branded and priced for discriminating clientele, of course.
The owner Yunib Siddiqui, 40, explains that the building his shop sits in has more than 4,000 people working in it during the day, so he "won't have to worry about daytime business".
He takes me on a tour of the shop, starting at the bakery. It's the end of the first day of business - busier than expected - and the bakery has been almost completely cleaned out by customers.
"I got here at 7am," the baker says. "When I come in I start baking the bread from scratch. We have four different kinds. I make 20 or less of each. Today was busy; people loved the sandwiches."
Next on the tour is the chilled cheese room, where clients can choose from 80 varieties that Siddiqui assures will not be found elsewhere. Brie with a truffle centre, for example, can be yours for a cool Dh35 per 100g. In addition to top-of-the-line cheese graters and other accessories, dried fruit and sauces to go with the cheeses sit outside the room.
The juice selection includes the Jones brand as well as a fresh-squeezed blend - a different combination each day. Today's is beetroot, carrot and orange; Dh15 for a small container, ready for consumption. Voss "artisanal" water is available at Dh18 for 800ml, for the H2O connoisseur.
Jones makes several type of pastas (egg fettuccine, Dh35.9 for 375g) and sells other high-end brands. An impressive oil selection follows, stocked on shelves from the cheapest at the bottom to the priciest up top. At eye level is a bottle of hazelnut oil for Dh100. Jones brand apple and tomato chutney goes for Dh42 for a 320g jar. An equally extensive offering of spice rubs will surely help remind clients to get out the barbecue. Jones brand rubs can be refilled on site; among its selection, Jamaican Jerk, Dh39.90 for 105g. And just in case you aren't convinced this store offers only quality items, make note of the Peugeot salt and pepper mills, Dh150 each, or the red and steel edition sitting next to them, Dh210 apiece.
jhume@thenational.ae
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Bridgerton%20season%20three%20-%20part%20one
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
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Dominic Rubin, Oxford
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
India squad for fourth and fifth Tests
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Shaw, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur, Vihari
THE%20JERSEYS
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
