Mom's Spaghetti began as a series of pop-ups before becoming a permanent restaurant in Detroit in 2021. Photo: Mom's Spaghetti / Shady Touring
Mom's Spaghetti began as a series of pop-ups before becoming a permanent restaurant in Detroit in 2021. Photo: Mom's Spaghetti / Shady Touring
Mom's Spaghetti began as a series of pop-ups before becoming a permanent restaurant in Detroit in 2021. Photo: Mom's Spaghetti / Shady Touring
Mom's Spaghetti began as a series of pop-ups before becoming a permanent restaurant in Detroit in 2021. Photo: Mom's Spaghetti / Shady Touring

Lifestyle

Food

Eminem's pop-up restaurant Mom's Spaghetti coming to Abu Dhabi F1

American hip-hop star's eatery will also open at Soundstorm festival in Riyadh

William Mullally
William Mullally

December 04, 2024

  • English
  • Arabic

Mom's Spaghetti, the cult restaurant of superstar American rapper Eminem, will be making its Middle East debut at the Abu Dhabi Formula One this week.

A pop-up will be open at the Yas Marina Circuit from Thursday to Sunday, offering popular dishes as well as rare and custom-designed Eminem memorabilia.

The restaurant began in 2017 as a series of pop-ups before becoming a permanent brick-and-mortar location in the hip-hop star's hometown of Detroit in 2021. It's named after a line in his popular song Lose Yourself from 2002's 8 Mile soundtrack. It is also a loving ode to Eminem's mother, Debbie Nelson, who died on Tuesday aged 69.

Following Abu Dhabi, the activation will then move to Riyadh from December 12 to 14 for Soundstorm festival inside a purpose-built stand Fort Shady. It will also offer bespoke and exclusive merchandise designed specifically for regional fans.

Eminem is set to perform at both events, taking the stage on Saturday at Etihad Park as part of the Yasalam After-Race Concert series and on December 12 in Riyadh.

Eminem's Mom's Spaghetti will make its Middle East debut at the Abu Dhabi grand prix. Photo: Mom's Spaghetti / Shady Touring
Eminem's Mom's Spaghetti will make its Middle East debut at the Abu Dhabi grand prix. Photo: Mom's Spaghetti / Shady Touring

The pop-up is a collaboration between Mom's Spaghetti, Shady Records and Global Venture Partners. The restaurant's menu includes a "road pasta", spaghetti with meatballs and a spaghetti sandwich, the latter served with four pieces of toast on a tray of bolognese.

"Bringing Mom's Spaghetti to fans in the Middle East has been a long time coming," says Paul Rosenberg, Eminem's long-time manager. "We've had incredible demand from fans in this part of the world, and we're excited to finally be able to bring the pop-up experience and exclusive merchandise to these iconic events. It's an opportunity to connect with fans and share a taste of Detroit with them."

The purpose-built structure Fort Shady will appear exclusively at Soundstorm in Riyadh. Photo: NightOwl
The purpose-built structure Fort Shady will appear exclusively at Soundstorm in Riyadh. Photo: NightOwl

Eminem has been coming to Abu Dhabi for 12 years, first performing as part of the Abu Dhabi Formula One in 2012 before returning as part of his Kamikaze World Tour in 2019. The National praised the gig in its review, noting how Eminem shed his former brooding persona to embrace a more interactive approach on stage.

Jason Coke, managing partner of Global Venture Partners, teases that this will not be a one-off. "We're opening the door for potential future expansions. This is just the beginning," he says.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

If you go…

Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.

Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days. 

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Updated: December 04, 2024, 1:36 PM
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