Limestone Lab Announces Partnership with Aura Hospitality Group to Open Social Distrikt in Qatar by Q2 2023

December 2022, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Limestone Lab, the experience-driven hospitality group with a vision of launching new and innovative hospitality concepts across the social and dining scene, announces its partnership with Aura Hospitality group, a fast-growing group at the forefront of hospitality in Qatar. The collaboration will see Limestone Lab’s Social Distikt venue open in Qatar, launching as the second branch of the experiential urban food and bar hall.

In line with Limestone Lab’s vision of expanding its portfolio of innovative F&B concepts, the forward-thinking group has recently looked to diversify further into other regions across the GCC. This partnership is formed from a common belief that the popular urban food hall fits the movement in line with the Qatar 2030 vision of shifting towards an advanced society capable of achieving sustainable development. As a prominent player in the Qatar hospitality industry, teaming with the Aura Group was a logical choice for Limestone Lab.

Social Distrikt is one of Limestone Lab’s F&B concepts located at The Pointe, Palm Jumeirah, and is a one-stop destination that offers patrons an urban food hall experience alongside various communal activities and experiences. Hosting endless events, including brunches, live entertainment, ladies’ nights, workshops, and many more, Limestone Lab has seen the concept’s success first-hand and is confident the partnership with Aura Hospitality will also transpire in Qatar.

By partnering with local hero brands and regional renowned brands, Social Distrikt’s food and cultural concept allows rising brands from the region to expand, whilst giving consumers different multi-sensory experiences all under one roof. Not only does the market-disrupting food hall offer a dining atmosphere unlike any other, the venue offers rich entertainment and activations programs including the use of a professional recording studio, games arcade, live acts, and kids play area. Expanding as a multi-jurisdictional concept is within Limestone Lab’s ethos as the unique and trendy destination will cater to a broader audience.

Looking to the future, the innovative hospitality group is in discussions with leading master developers, hotel groups, and large assets’ managers, both from this region and the Western market to expand its portfolio. With the aim of creating a network of multiple Social Distrikt venues, first in the region before expanding globally in the next four to five years, Limestone Lab will bring real estate solutions and ideas to the table, turning plans into fruition. Alongside this, the team are continually on the hunt for culinary hero concepts, cultural and entertainment talent on the rise, and successful activations to add onto its ecosystem.

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Limestone Lab, Hassan Ballout, shares, “Social Distrikt is not only an experiential food hall, but rather a real estate solution that directly impacts the asset value it occupies, the neighbouring lease retail value, and the lifestyle of its residential communities. Being a platform that offers successful brand owners a faster route to scalability through lower capital and operational expense deployment allowed us access to over 200 F&B brands. Hence, our model becomes extremely agile, with a rotational feature that reduces the risk of the typical tenant landlord complexed relationship, in addition to an evolving offering which correlates to our consumer centric philosophy. At the core of why we created Social Distrikt is a dream to offer the consumer a multitude of different rich experiences all under one roof, by creating a harmonious equally beneficial ecosystem for all its stakeholders”.