I’m sitting with Emad Yacoub in his beautifully appointed Glowbal Restaurant on the main floor of the stunning Telus building. He’s dressed casually with a cardigan and slacks and he has a genuine and friendly smile on his face. Effortlessly, he directs traffic for newly arrived customers, waves hello to a guest across the room as well as arranging coffee for our table.
His cool, calm, friendly demeanor makes for a highly enjoyable afternoon. Part of the enjoyment is the people watching — because the place is hopping. There’s an energy and atmosphere to this dining room that makes you feel like you’re part of something special. And it’s a standard feature for any Glowbal Group restaurant … energy. It’s a feeling that this is where the action is at. And that’s the whole idea.
It’s hard to imagine that the dynamic personality that is Emad Yacoub, co-founder, president and CEO of Glowbal Restaurant Group, and 2013 Restaurateur of the Year was once in charge of squeezing orange juice at the Harbour Castle Hilton in Toronto. But that’s the thing about Emad. He’s a bit of an enigma. A very successful enigma.
As the Orange Juice Story goes (as he calls it), he arrived in Canada from Egypt in 1984 at the tender age of 19. He had an accounting degree, but spoke no English, and started the tough work that many immigrants to Canada face — finding work.
After an unsuccessful stint at McDonald’s, he found himself at the Hilton as a kitchen helper cutting and squeezing oranges for 6 hours per day. Most might find this kind of work repetitive and a bit boring. But not Emad. To him it was “an adventure.” “They used to call me the crazy Egyptian because every day, I challenged myself to make the orange juice faster and more efficiently. In fact, I even put a clock on the wall to time myself.” He got faster. A lot faster until finally, he got the orange juice done in 1.5 hours. The head chef was impressed.
Later on that year, the kitchen was short staffed as many of the cooks were off to a breakfast competition in London, Ontario. “That just happened to be one of the busiest breakfast services we ever did, and I did over 300 covers that morning, all by myself.” The head chef was impressed … again. Emad was offered a position as line cook, his reputation grew and his career evolved, and by the age of 28, he was the youngest executive chef in Toronto, taking on the responsibility of chef de cuisine at the historic and luxurious King Edward Hotel in Toronto’s downtown core.
Fast forward four more years and Emad found himself recruited by Joe Fortes Seafood and Chophouse in downtown Vancouver, under the tutelage of renowned restaurateur, Bud Kanke. “Bud opened my eyes to the importance of ‘concept,’ but he also introduced me to innovative ways to create that ‘energy’ that people find so compelling. For example, back in the late ‘90s, Bud introduced the ‘early bird’ special, so when people arrived later for their dinner reservation at 7:00pm, they could see that this place was already jumping.”
After a couple of successful ego-boosting years at Joe Fortes, Bud let Emad go. “I was humbled by that experience. But it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me, career wise.”
In 2002, with his experience and a new attitude in tow, Emad launched the glowbal grill steaks and satay in Yaletown with 8 staff members. He wanted to create a gathering place for friends and family with worldly cuisine featuring the freshest west coast ingredients. A week later they had 19 staff, as they knew they had a hit on their hands. And they’ve been rolling ever since. Between 2002 and 2011, Emad and his team opened Coast, Italian Kitchen, Trattoria, and Black & Blue, all which have become Vancouver standouts.
“Today we have over 10 restaurants each with its own concept and personality,” says Yacoub. “We have another chophouse concept in development that will be close to the Vancouver Convention Centre, but even more exciting is the fact that we’re now looking at Toronto as our next destination.”
Today, the Glowbal Restaurant Group has over 700 staff in restaurants across the Lower Mainland, and many of those staff spend quite a few extra hours volunteering their time to help those in need. “In 2020, we reached over 100,000 meals donated,” says Emad. “Our Ten Days of Glowbal Giving is a program that serves an important purpose and I think it’s the least we can do for a city that’s been so good to us through the years.”
So what makes the Glowbal group so successful? Well, it might have something to do with what Emad learned from his friend and mentor Bud Kanke about creating energy. Or it might be more about this feeling of being welcomed into someone’s home. “No one is perfect,” states Emad. “Not Michael Jordan, not us. But when you welcome someone into your home, the customer’s expectation of perfection is demolished.”
Although each brand has its own personality and serves a specific audience, there’s one common underlying theme, and that is people feeling at home. “The restaurant industry is filled with unpredictability,” says Emad. “Bad weather, storms, acts of God, pandemics can all impact business on a day-to-day basis, and you never know what surprises will come along. But if we can make people feel at home, then our job is half done.”
At the end of that sentence, he pauses … “You’ll have to forgive me. I must make a phone call otherwise I’ll forget.” I’m curious. Something unpredictable? An emergency? Emad dials a number and asks, “Have we bought James a new watch yet?” The conversation continues for a few minutes. I find out later that one of his chefs has been with the company for 15 years, and as is tradition, they are presented with a “nice” new watch. Emad just wanted to make sure he took care of that detail on the spot. His team, it seems, is close to his heart.
Emad comments that a key element of Glowbal’s success is rooted in this team approach. His chefs aren’t just great chefs. They’re part owners too. “I know good people when I see them,” says Emad. “And in order to keep them on the team, they need to feel like they have a piece of the action. It just makes good business sense.”
What’s the future for Emad and his empire? Probably not squeezing orange juice. But with the continued success of his current restaurant brands, and expansion into the Toronto market he sees substantial growth on the horizon. “We’re on solid ground as a company, and I think we’ll be doing $100 million in 2024,” he says. It’s a tall order, but if anyone can do it, I’ll bet on Emad Yacoub. Knowing him, he’s probably got a clock on the wall.
AWARDS & ACCOLADES
2010 | Received Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award
2011 | Emad Yacoub inducted into the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame
2017 | Emad received Restaurateur of the Year at the annual Pinnacle Awards