sbe Disrupts the Food and Beverage Industry Through Launch of the C3 Platform

MIAMI, Feb. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- sbe Entertainment Group, the leading lifestyle hospitality company that develops, manages and operates award-winning global brands, today announced the launch of C³ (Creating Culinary Communities), which will introduce to the world a revolutionary way to approach food halls, ghost kitchens and mobile delivery. The first company of its kind, C³ will act as an incubator of limited service culinary brands, comprised of both new concepts and evolutions of established, highly successful full-service sbe restaurants.

C³ is being launched as a partnership between sbe; Simon, a global leader in the ownership of premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations; and Accor, the world-leading augmented hospitality group offering unique experiences in more than 5,000 hotels and residences across 110 destinations. By combining sbe's ability to build and grow successful, award-winning food and beverage concepts, Simon's extensive real estate footprint and Accor's international hotel base of 5,000 global properties, C³ is enviably positioned to be the leader and pioneer in this space.

Sam Nazarian, Founder & CEO of sbe and majority shareholder of C³ commented, "sbe, for the past two decades has created leading culinary experiences for hotels, restaurants and nightlife. Now, through C³, we are bringing the same creative thinking directly to how consumers want their food: from phone-to-table in under 30 minutes and for under 30 dollars. We are setting our sights on the future of how people choose to consume their food and are approaching food halls, ghost kitchens and mobile delivery in a unique fashion. I view C³ as the Netflix-equivalent of food and beverage as we focus on constantly creating culinary content that can be delivered to consumers via non-traditional distribution channels. C³ will be the first entity to bring single operator, multi-branded solutions to food halls, ghost kitchens and mobile delivery. Consumers will see the hallmarks of the sbe portfolio across C³: high quality, consistent and innovation-driven food brought to consumers through their preferred methods."

Mr. Nazarian continued, "I am humbled to partner with my dear friend David Simon, a real estate titan and well-respected global innovator. Simon and C³ is a perfect match through Simon's global real estate platform and their continued commitment to rethinking consumer experiences. This also marks the ongoing expansion of the already game changing partnership with Sébastien Bazin and the venerable Accor team. The Accor partnership will allow C³ to rethink the use of hotel real estate to play a significant role in the world of delivery, revolutionizing the in-room dining experience and, in turn, growing the delivery footprint of our C³ brands."

"We're extremely excited to partner with sbe on the launch of C³. Sam Nazarian is a true visionary who's redefining the future of lifestyle hospitality and we share his passion for innovation and disruption. Our unrivalled portfolio of iconic retail, dining and entertainment destinations generates billions of visits each year and provide an ideal platform to re-imagine dining and culinary experiences that meet the evolving tastes of our customers. C³ is another example of Simon partnering with dynamic, best-in-class brands to build the next generation of experiential destinations," said David Simon, Chairman, CEO and President of Simon.

"Accor is thrilled to be taking part in the revolution sbe is triggering within the industry. We are constantly on the lookout for new disruptive trends, and typically the C³ platform is a phenomenally innovative concept that will take guest experiences to new heights," said Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of Accor.  

Ghost Kitchens Featuring Acclaimed Chefs

C³ will be the first instance of a global lifestyle hospitality company entering into the ghost kitchen space, where it will take a different approach than other ghost kitchen models. Rather than focusing solely on convenience, C³ will bring high quality food, created by the world's leading chefs, directly to your door or food hall.

All three partners of C³ bring ample opportunity for ghost kitchens to occupy currently underutilized spaces in an innovative manner, such as existing kitchen facilities across the sbe and Accor networks.

C³ is excited to reveal the first four chefs to join its platform - world-famous Chefs Dani Garcia, Masaharu Morimoto, Dario Cecchini and sbe Chief Culinary Officer, Martin Heierling. Chef Garcia, as a three-star Michelin chef and one of the leading Andalusian chefs in the world, will launch his Mediterranean tapas-style concept across the C³ ghost kitchen ecosystem. Chef Morimoto has garnered critical and popular acclaim for his signature style featuring a seamless integration of Western and Japanese ingredients. The award-winning Butcher, Dario Cecchini, will launch his Tuscan interpretation of an Italian sandwich shop.

Under the direction of sbe Chief Culinary Officer Martin Heierling, sbe will introduce as part of C³:

• Krispy Rice, inspired by sbe's Katsuya brand
• Plant Nation, a 100-percent plant-based concept in collaboration with Impossible Foods
• Sam's Crispy Chicken, a 100-percent antibiotic-free chicken concept
• 12 Chairs, a caviar bar
• EllaMia gourmet coffee eatery in collaboration with sbe's Corporate Executive Pastry Chef Romain Fournel, and
• Umami Burger, winner of the "Burger of the Year" award from GQ magazine.

Over the coming months, C³ will begin to launch its ghost kitchens, including 200 locations set to be in operation by the end of 2021.

Reinventing the Food Hall

C³ will launch Citizens, its first major eatery, in the heart of Brookfield Properties' Manhattan West development in New York City.  The 40,000 square foot space, designed by award-winning interior designer David Rockwell, will contain a curated collection of established and new proprietary culinary brands at two full-service restaurants, multiple bars and a fast-casual market hall.

Citizens will be powered by a 5,000 square foot ghost kitchen, one of the largest in New York City, that will serve customers both at the food hall as well as through delivery.

Mr. Nazarian commented, "Using our strong, chef-driven culinary brands, we are re-imagining the traditional food hall to bring even better experiences and higher quality food to consumers with technology, sustainability and loyalty at the forefront of that thought process.  We are going to bring culinary brands to the ghost kitchen concept, utilizing existing kitchens across the sbe and Accor universe, as well as current Simon properties."

Taking Delivery to the Next Level

Through the growing network of ghost kitchens, C³ will take a major step in reimagining the concept of food delivery. For over a year, sbe has worked tirelessly to create bespoke packaging for each of the C³ dining concepts with never-before-seen innovation that will preserve the quality and taste of the food through the delivery process. C³, its delivery system and packaging are designed to be completely carbon neutral.

Mr. Nazarian concluded, "In creating our packaging, we made no compromises to ensure that consumers will still be able to enjoy the high quality of our food after a delivery is completed.  The unique packaging is highly functional, fully secured from delivery tampering, forward thinking and presents an opportunity to market our food in the best possible manner."

About sbe

Established in 2002 by Founder and CEO Sam Nazarian, sbe is a privately-held, leading lifestyle hospitality company that develops, manages and operates award-winning hotels, residences, restaurants and nightclubs. Through exclusive partnerships with cultural visionaries, sbe is devoted to creating extraordinary experiences throughout its proprietary brands with a commitment to authenticity, sophistication, mastery and innovation. Following the acquisition of Morgans Hotel Group, the pioneer of boutique lifestyle hotels, in partnership with Accor, sbe has an unparalleled global portfolio which will see 36 hotels and over 200 global world-renowned culinary, nightlife and entertainment venues by the end of 2020. The company is uniquely positioned to offer a complete lifestyle experience - from nightlife, food & beverage and entertainment to hotels and residences, and through its innovative customer loyalty and rewards program, The Code, as well as its award-winning international real estate development subsidiary, Dakota Development - all of which solidify sbe as the preeminent leader across hospitality. The company's established and upcoming hotel brands include SLS Hotel & Residences, Delano, Mondrian, The Redbury, HYDE Hotel & Residences, and The House of Originals. In addition, sbe has the following internationally acclaimed restaurants and lounges under subsidiary Disruptive Restaurant Group: Katsuya by Chef Katsuya Uechi, Umami Burger, Cleo, Fi'lia, Carna by Dario Cecchini, Leynia and Diez y Seis by Chef José Icardi, HYDE Lounge, S Bar, Doheny Room, Nightingale, Skybar, Bond, and Privilege. To learn more, visit sbe.com.

About Simon

Simon is a global leader in the ownership of premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations and an S&P 100 company (Simon Property Group, NYSE:SPG). Our properties across North America, Europe, and Asia provide community gathering places for millions of people every day and generate billions in annual sales. For more information, visit simon.com.

About Accor

Accor is a world-leading augmented hospitality group offering unique experiences in more than 5000 hotels and residences across 110 destinations. The Group has been acquiring hospitality expertise for more than 50 years, resulting in an unrivaled portfolio of 39 hotel brands, from luxury to economy, supported by one of the most attractive loyalty programs in the world.

ALL, Accor Live Limitless is a daily lifestyle companion that integrates rewards, services and experiences bringing value to everyday life inventing a completely new aspirational way to live limitless…

Accor is deeply committed to sustainable value creation and plays an active role in giving back to planet and community via its Planet 21 – Acting Here program and the Accor Solidarity endowment fund, which gives disadvantaged groups access to employment through professional training.

Accor SA is publicly listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange (ISIN code: FR0000120404) and on the OTC Market (Ticker: ACRFY) in the United States. For more information visit accor.com. Or become a fan and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Media Contacts

For sbe
Chris Giglio / Ross Lovern
[email protected] / [email protected]
+1 212 521 4800

For Simon

Ali Slocum
317.264.3079
[email protected]

SOURCE sbe Entertainment Group

Related Links

http://sbe.com