Abrakebabra Investments Ltd. or AIL Group is a company behind a group of Irish fastfood franchises. The history of the group goes back to 1982 when the first Abrakebabra was opened in Rathmines, Dublin.
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Portfolio
The AIL Group operates a number of different franchise formulas in the Republic of Ireland and UK. It has over 180 outlets across their different brands and was voted 'Irish Franchise of the Year' in 2008 and 2009 by the Irish Franchise Association
Abrakebabra
Abrakebabra is a fast-food restaurant offering kebabs, taco-fries and a small selection of burgers. With very late opening hours Abrakebabra outlets cater for people who are looking for a snack after a night of partying and drinking. Outlets are spread all over the country and many outlets can be found near areas with pubs and night-clubs such as Temple Bar and Harcourt Street area. Most restaurants are take-away but there are a few outlets that also offer delivery.
Bagel Factory
The Bagel Factory was created in 1996 and the first shop opened in 1997 as Great American Bagel Factory. This first shop was in Endell Street in London. Initially not set up as a franchise formula: the first shop had a bakery in the basement, the shop on ground level and the owner living in the apartment above the shop. In now trades as just Bagel Factory and has 26 outlets in Central London, Reading, Edinburgh, Dublin and some major travel hubs in both countries
Chick King
Chick King is an Irish-based franchise formula. As part of the AIL Group the official head-office is at the AIL address in Rathmines, Dublin but actual operations are lead from Newbridge, County Kildare. In 2008 it was voted as 'Best Emerging Franchise' by the Irish Franchise Association.
Yo Sushi
YO! Sushi brought the Japanese style of kaiten sushi bars to the UK: delivering the freshly made sushis via a small conveyor belt that travels at 8 cm/s and customer sitting at the bar can just pick whatever they like from the belt. Yo! was the first company to bring this method to the UK market in 1997 AIL operates the Irish franchise organisation, the companies world-wide operations are managed through Yo!'s headquarters in London.
Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Gourmet Burger Kitchen or shortened to GBK is originally a concept from New Zealand. It currently (June 2013) operates 7 outlets in the republic: 5 in Dublin, one at Dublin Airport and one in Newbridge.
O'Briens Sandwich Cafés
O'Briens operates over 100 outlets all around the republic. Many of the stores also offer catering services and it also has some stores in offices that are not open to the public (for example at KPMG office at St. Stephens Green in Dublin. The concept is offering 'made to order' sandwiches and also offers the portfolio from sister-company Bagel Factory.