Today we’d like to introduce you to Ais Almahdi.
Ais York Almahdi founder and Chief Operating Officer at SAHP GROUP and Five Star Formula is a New York Native who has found success in numerous endeavors. A Bar and Restaurant industry owner and expert, he has invests in, operated and consulted on restaurant and bar projects in many major cities, including Atlanta (GA), Brooklyn (NY), Manhattan (NY), Dallas (TX), Houston (TX), Miami (FL), Charlotte (NC), and Las Vegas (NV). Ais has Successfully grown many popular concepts including but not limited to The El Felix Restaurant (Atlanta, GA), Caribbean Social (Brooklyn, NY), Suede Kitchen (Brooklyn, NY), Caribbean Kitchen (Brooklyn, NY), Delta's Restaurant (New Brunswick, NJ), Oak (Atlanta, GA), Oak Craft Bar (Sunrise, FL), Café Circa (Atlanta, GA), Traffik Kitchen (Atlanta, GA), Premiere Bar & Lounge (Miami FL), Studio 23 aka Club XXIII (Miami FL), and many more generating a collective revenue of over 25 million dollars in the last 3 years.
Ais comes from over 30 years of experience under the tutelage of restaurateur, Coretta King of Deltas Restaurant and Larry Daniels, general manager of the Hyatt Hotel in New Brunswick, New Jersey. While attending Rutgers University-New Brunswick he stayed with Delta’s restaurant, sharpening his service and hospitality skills. Later in his career, Ais went on to work with large restaurant groups such as Chef Ford Fry’s Rocket Farm Restaurant Group, and many more.
Ais opened up his first restaurant and nightclub in Atlanta, Georgia, then New York in 2009. Since then, he has been consulting on many projects from restaurant and bar projects in Brooklyn, New York, to nightclub and lounge projects in Miami, Florida. Finally, with the help of The National Restaurant Association, and The American Hotel and Lodging Association, Ais, opened the first full-service bar and restaurant industry school in Atlanta, Georgia. He has assisted individuals with attaining the proper industry-standard training and nationally recognized certifications.
Ais aims to cultivate and improve on all of the restaurants and bars in his portfolio. While expanding the school into many different markets and creating industry-standard operations, professionalism and 5-star service and hospitality, while arming the industry with a work-ready workforce.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story
Question: Has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well as we all know, Covid has changed so many things in our space from the way we operate to the way the customers interact with our product. I had time to sit back during the pandemic, take a breath and look at things from 5000 feet above and I realized that my entire portfolio was all non-essential businesses. I had to stop the bleeding and cut my staff, negotiate with my landlords and buckle down. I had to trim the fat and get really lean as far as operations. Now, I have to plan accordingly. But at the same time, the bull in me is out here reinventing myself and trying to take advantage of a landscape where I can acquire assets, pennies on the dollar. I’m working on some amazing new projects and raising capital against great concepts with below normal operating costs due to COVID.
Alright – so let’s talk business.
Tell us about Sahp Group and Five Star Formula – what should we know?
We are a premium consulting, training, recruiting agency specializing in the Restaurant, Bar and Retail Industries. We assist restaurants, bars and even retailers by training and arming their staff will all of the knowledge and tools they need in a short time, to be able to provide great and optimal service that will with out a doubt improve on the guest's experience. We know and understand that our industry has a very high turn over rate and that there is always a high cost associated with this turn over and retraining. So we have created online tools and modules to streamline this process. We have also included new covid regulations. We also assist individuals with improving on their profile while getting them qualified and work-ready so that they can be work-ready and qualified candidates. We also offer a variety of additional services which helps our candidates build on their knowledge base so that they can move up in their field.
We have trained and placed over 500 people into the workforce industry in the last two years.
SAHP and five star formula are the Nation’s first and most complete online hospitality training site covering a diverse range of courses. A desperate shortage in the Hospitality work force and a pinnacle time for career choice changes. Now is the time to take action. SAHP is offering students from all experience levels a well-rounded and diverse selection of courses to ensure the skills they need in todays workplace. Employers can hire with confidence knowing that every person who completes an SAHP course has the know-how and competitive edge needed in today’s market.
We have trained and placed over 500 people into the workforce industry in the last two years.
SAHP and five star formula are the Nation’s first and most complete online hospitality training site covering a diverse range of courses. A desperate shortage in the Hospitality work force and a pinnacle time for career choice changes. Now is the time to take action. SAHP is offering students from all experience levels a well-rounded and diverse selection of courses to ensure the skills they need in todays workplace. Employers can hire with confidence knowing that every person who completes an SAHP course has the know-how and competitive edge needed in today’s market.