Salalah Gardens Mall: Store listing

The big mall development down in Salalah, the Salalah Gardens Mall, is due to open soon. It looks really nice from the images that I've seen, and as is now becoming customary, here's the store listing for the mall so far - note that as always, there will be changes in the list and what's actually in the mall.

The mall is a lot like Muscat's MGM, it includes 168 apartments as well as a large mall too - it's built up area is over 80,000 m2. Originally planned to open at the end of 2012, the current target for opening is "mid 2013".

I have to say - its looking really good, and I think the owners (Kuwaitis - United Real Estate Company) will do very well! A very special thanks to "Anonymous" for helping with the information!

Here's the list:

Anchors
Carrefour
Red Tag
Home Centre
City Cinema
Fun Station

Others
Tibat Labnan
Crispy
Italiano Food
Casa Mia Uno
Subway
KFC
ChicKing
Ice Cream
McDonalds
Ad'Dirham
Zahra Phones
Jumbo Electronics
E-World
Al-Wafi Mobiles
Asgharali
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Fancy World
Al Shoala
Adams & Sons Jewellery
Al Obaidani
Ahli Bank
Oman Arab Bank
Sizillion
Dalas Gelato
Zohoor Al Reef
Acessorize
Opty Sport
Al Qurashi
Fashion World
Pizza Inn
AXA Insurance
Goal Sport
Nestle Toll house
Khimji Ramdas
Tips & Toes
Steve Madden
Party 21
H. Flo
Patchi Chocolates
Junaid Perfumes
Optic Vision
Costa Coffee
Pappa Roti
Swiss Arabian
Coccodrillo
Muscat Watch Centre
Makka
Finland Eye Centre
Al Shoala
Chain
Lynes Shoes
The Body Shop
Al Arabia Oud
Al Faisal
Al Khuwair Pharmacy
Bank Dhofar
Omantel
Salman Store
Shoe Express
Oman Phone
Rivoli
Eskafi Shoes
DNP
Ajmal
Lahoo's Money exchange
Colombiano Coffee House
Nayoumi
Carpisa
Al Motahajiba
Arif Jewellery
First Choice
Smart Diet
Iris Optics
Mikyaji
Capital Store


More soon!

le fin.

Tim Hortons now open in MCC

Earlier this week, the second Timmies branch in Oman opened at Muscat City Centre mall, at the main entrancec where Nine West used to  be. So that's the second outlet here in town. I wonder if another outlet will come any time soon? It'd be nice to get a coffee in the morning on the way to work, but the malls don't usually open till around 10ish..

Toasted Sesame bagel with cream cheese, here I come!

Have a great weekend!

le fin.

Tim Hortons to open in MGM by Saturday.

Just a little quick update for those of you that are a fan of Tim Hortons coffee like myself... the MGM branch is ready - it's just awaiting a few small tweaks from Canada regarding their pricing / menus and then they will be open. Possibly as soon as tomorrow, or by Saturday at the latest.

I stopped in today and had a coffee, it was perfect :)

Happy Halloween!

le fin.

Tim Hortons in Oman... an update

I've blogged about Timmies quite a few times in the last year, most notably my many-months scoop on the news that Tim Hortons was coming to Oman before the Times of Oman published the news ;)

Well the very nice, but slow to start new mall; Muscat Grand Mall, was supposed to be the location for the first Tim Hortons outlet in Oman, after a store in Muscat City Center was bumped for another brand. Well it seems that there was a legal tussle between Apparel Group (the franchise owner of Tim Hortons in the Middle East) which has been resolved - but has delayed the opening of the branch in MGM.

Now there are still plans to open the MGM branch "later this year" but the news today is that the first Time Hortons branch to open in Oman will now be at the Muscat City Center main entrance, where the Birkenstock store is (I understand) - and it should be open by the middle of July, or before.

And you can not blame the owner for wanting to open in MCC first... I was there yesterday at 4pm and even the top parking lot was nearly full, and the mall itself was heaving! In contrast, MGM was busy with a different set of people - in gym shoes, walking laps around the mall, which I think has become one of the top reasons people go to MGM currently.

le fin.

A few bits for the weekend

This weekend summary I have a theme with food, with 2 different food related suggestions! But before the food, local guy Sami Asmi is hosting another one of his Urban Takeover parties at Zouk tonight, from 10:30 or there abouts.

Here's the blurb from the Facebook event page:

Zouk brings you the URBAN TAKEOVER. Wednesday May 2nd

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

With the Award Winning International DJ Adam J bringing you the best of

■ HipHop
■ R&B
■ House
■ Dubstep
■ Club Bangers

Worked with artists like Akon, Jay Sean, Faith Evans, Blackstreet, Massari , Lloyd, Tine Tempah, Wayne Wonder, Imran Khan

Adam J's latest track WE CAME TO PARTY has been hitting the charts and coming to Oman soon ;) Check out the clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-af-NhXyXs

Hosted by Oman's #1 MC Sami Asmi
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Event Timing:
10:30pm – 3am

Venue:
Zouk (Crowne Plaza Hotel, Muscat)

Dress Code:
Dress to impress

- 21+ only
- Entry: 20 OMR Gents and Free entry for Ladies
- Doors open: 8pm
- Dress code: Dress to impress
- Management reserves the right to refuse entry
- Normal club policies apply, Couples and mixed groups receiving preference
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

For Table | VIP reservations please contact:

Tel: +968 24664912
Mobile: +968 95759771

Next up, local caterers based in Al Khuwair, The Dried Lemon, are having an open day with samples of the dishes they prepare tomorrow (Thursday) from noon till 6pm. There are details on how to get there on the Facebook Event page. For members of the Abandoned Dad's Society, or the "Wife ditched me here for the summer" support group, The Dried Lemon also prepares a few frozen dishes is simple serving sizes starting from as little as RO 3.500 for a lasagna. Might be worth a look in.

Also, there is a new South African meat supplier in town - more details on these guys soon, but here's their price list for various meat products and how to contact them. I have to say I'm pretty pumped about the Ostrich burgers, the SA Beef Tenderloin and the Biltong!

Click to make this bigger!

And finally Next, the local Muscat Pirates kids rugby group have launched a nice new website which contains all the information you need to know about registering your kids for the next season (Due to start in early September).

Thanks to a reader who reminded me about the road closures this weekend: The Azaiba Roundabout (the one by the Grand Mosque) is being partially closed from 3pm tomorrow (Thursday) until midnight, and then fully closed between midnight and 3pm on Friday. No they don't explain what partially closed means.

Have a great weekend.

le fin.

Mackenzies Cafe & Deli

I originally blogged about this in June 2011 and it seems that the place is nearing completion and thus opening. Gordon Mackenzie (the guy behind Alive Events) is expanding his increasingly popular internet-ordering imported foods website, MackenziesDeli.com and is opening a cafe in MQ, underneath the Al Noor hall, just behind the Subway, next to the baby daycare place.

 

I took a sneak peak inside the store and snapped a few pictures - initial impressions (apart from it not yet being complete) is that it is actually going to be a pretty big spot, and it's got fancy Scottish themed wall paper. I'm sure the Caledonian society of Oman types will be pleased to see the Scottish Thistle featured in the Cafe.

There's no set opening date just yet - Oman being Oman and the licenses & permits process being a rather drawn out affair, but definitely before Ramadan! The store will also have a Pork room, as well as a Butchers & Cheese counter to boot - looks like Al Fair's stranglehold on Pork products may finally come to an end (with the exception of the frozen pork shop that I blogged about in 2009). Of course, you can still place an order on their website and have it delivered to your house anywhere in the Muscat area - cash on delivery. I highly recommend their fancy bangers!

Moving on, last night I learned that the Passage to India restaurant by Hatat House had a fire about a week ago which gutted it, and now the restaurant is closed for renovation. No word yet how bad the fire was, or how it happened, or even when they plan to reopen. Shame really, it was my favorite spot for a ruby murray in town - relatively cheap food (when comparing to Mumtaz Mahal or a "Shatti" restaurant") and licensed to boot.

The thing I liked most about it was the fact that it was out of the way and quiet. I hope they re-open soon, and if you have any info on what actually happened - do share!

More soon.

le fin.

Muscat Grand Mall to open in March

Well, the marketing people at the Muscat Grand Mall have once again set a new date for opening their shiny new mall. This time the date is Thursday March 1st. One imagines that this time the mall will actually open, just not with all the stores open.

I do, however, take pleasure in sharing this photo:

Very exciting indeed if you happen to be a fan. Personally I love their coffee, and brew my own Timmies every day in my office with imported coffee from Canada - the donuts I don't miss (even though they are super tasty). I have no idea when they are planing to open the branch, but it is definitely "in the works". Repeated (read: daily) calls to a Ms Amjaad at Apparel Group (supposedly head of marketing for the Tim Hortons Brand at AG) have gone unanswered (I've been trying to contact her for nearly 3 weeks) so there's no other information I can share at this time, except that Apparel Group's marketing team are very slow to respond.

So anyway - This Thursday, March 1st, should see the MGM open finally. I presume that Carrefour will be open, along with a bunch of stores. I wrote a blog on a complete store listing (at the time) last year in August, and you can read it here. I imagine the store listing has changed a bit since then, but it's probably more or less still correct.

Also, touching upon a previous blog post I wrote in November last year, the book Storm Front has now been released in paperback and is available for purchase (it's actually in stock!) at the Family Book Shop in MQ - Tel: 2460 0084 for the princely sum of RO 4.000. It's a great read and really interesting insight into Oman in the 60's and 70's, and I highly recommend everyone to read it - especially the bit in the start of the book about the accession to the throne for His Majesty. Interesting to see how this account differs wildly from the previous accounts - I'll not go into it any further here so I don't spoil it for you all.

Dont forget to try your luck in my free ticket giveaway to see Snow Patrol on Sunday March 11th!

le fin.

New store open, and TGI Fridays opening date announced.

Firstly,

A fellow local blogger, Happily Married to a Biker, has recently blogged about the opening of a new store, USF. It's now open at the Zakher Mall, above the Omantel offices on the 1st floor (or 2nd floor if your from North America). The store has all sorts of clothes, bags and shoes for ladies looking for something a little different than the normal stuff carried in the large chain stores here. The opening times are 10-1 and 4-8 - go and check it out!

And a little update on TGI Fridays - They have announced on their Facebook group - opening on Thursday 15th September. Perhaps I'll see you there...

Enjoy the weekend!

le fin.

It's official: Waitrose opening at The Wave

It has finally been confirmed: Waitrose will be opening at The Wave's retail area before the end of the year, and in the mean-time, a temporary Al Fair will be opening at The Wave. The most recent newsletter from the people at The Wave has confirmed this, as well as a few other retailers set to open up there.

I wonder what this will do to Markez Al Bhaja? Marks and Sparks is moving to MCC, Al Fair will surely become less frequented, the Coffee Bean & Tea leaf wil now be impacted by Costa Coffee, and lets face it, MAB mall is dying a death, I wonder if they'll get something new to bring in more shoppers?

In similar news, the Muscat Grand Mall (opposite Lulu in ghubra) is set to open "before the end of the year" (I've heard that one before) with Carrefour confirmed as the anchor store for the mall. It's a win-win for Majid Al Futtaim I guess, because they get to directly compete with LuLu's without having to build a location, I suspect they're rather pleased with themselves over their 4th store location in the Sultanate. 

So far I've not been able to get a retail map of the new mall, if you have one please share it with us!

More soon.

le fin.

Fancy imported food now available!

Firstly, a nod and a thank you to Mr & Mrs R.s latest blog post (nice to see you blogging again after your hiatus) on Mackenzies Deli, a new (well they've been here for quite some time supplying hotels) fancy imported food business. I have heard a rumour that they will be opening a retail outlet in MQ very close Subway / Ammas steakhouse. I do not know when their deli branch will open, and when I emailed them about it they were tight lipped about it! Their website is still under construction but will be opening soon I understand, and you will be able to place your orders online via their website. Nice.

Anyway, I've done the leg work for you all, and below is their entire product line up. If you would like to order some of their items, you will need to email them at orders@mackenziesdeli.com and ask for their Order Form (an Excel file)

Now, the food...

You can click on the pictures to make them bigger... and readable!


That's all for today, more tomorrow!


Did you vote in the latest poll yet? Please do!


le fin.