ENGFlorian Bollen – on the recent Tarantino Family acquisition and the plans to renovate Zhytniy Market

Tarantino Family restaurant chain co-founder Dmytro Fedotenkov announced on 19 September that he and his partner exit the business. He also told The Village Ukraine that the acquisition deal was reached with the German entrepreneur Florian Bollen. Bollen has since shared his first plans for Tarantino Family, namely the new project to revitalise the Zhytniy Market in Kyiv's Podil. Still, there are a lot of questions left unanswered about the deal. We posed these questions to Florian Bollen, specifically about the acquisition process, the previous owners' issues with law enforcement and the plans for Zhytniy Market. 

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– I gotta ask you, because starting business here in wartime Ukraine – it seems to be not even a risky venture, but a madness in a sense.

– [he laughs] You know what, I really do believe that one shouldn’t give up, one shouldn’t impress his will on [others]...

– Can you talk me through the recent Tarantino Family acquisition? There are a lot of questions here in Kyiv about this deal. Can you start by telling us why exactly you were interested in this project?

– I mean, I’ve been to Ukraine many times, I’ve travelled all over Ukraine. And I found it to be a fascinating, beautiful country, which has a huge potential. You know, it was really exciting, I thought we should do something there. And because we have this experience of making it in probably the most competitive market in the world when it comes to food markets – in London – we thought it may be ideal to bring some of this atmosphere and spirit into the country of Ukraine. Especially since it is going through such tough times. So that was an inspiration.

And then I met Dima and Sergey, and I have to say – what they have built up in Kyiv is phenomenal. I’ve tasted the food, I’ve seen the operations in the restaurants, and it [seemed to be] a perfect combination with what we have and the operations that they were running. So I discussed with Dima, and we said: Hey, maybe there’s a way how we can combine it, maybe you can get me a stake in the business and take it over. So we came to good terms. But it was really a development, which came to be in quite a while now.

– Was that like early summer? Or spring?

– We started talking months and months before…

– Way before February 24?

– I went to Ukraine for the first time like three years ago. And already then we made initial contacts, we knew each other. I’ve looked at the [Ukrainian] breweries, Dima had a brewery, so there was this long connection.

– In the interview with Focus magazine you mentioned that Tarantino Family is not a restaurant chain per se, it’s more of a brand. So what exactly is Tarantino Family?

– I think it’s similar to what we’re doing. We are not a brand, we are not a McDonald’s where everything’s the same, where everybody just buys a franchise. What we’re creating are wonderful locations in different settings for different audiences. And it’s about the community, about culture, about something [that helps the existing community] grow.

It’s very-very important for the [Zhytniy market] project that we keep the existing market stalls, that we make the place even more attractive. We will build on that community of traders. And whatever food would be presented, we would like to buy as much ingredients from these local guys. So we’re not an international franchise, we’re trying to see how we can develop something that organically grows out of the community.

And I think that’s very much the spirit of the Tarantino Family as well. They have different concepts, they adjust them to different locations, they have this ability to swim like a fish within the waters, rather than being a franchise system.

– I see, but I was asking about the structure of the company. I’d say that [Tarantino Family’s] was a rather unconventional model, in which certain restaurants had this element of autonomy, they had different partners and managing teams. Is it fair to say, that Tarantino Family is not a restaurant chain in a traditional sense?

– We try to bring a special experience to people. And they should be different, they should have different approaches to different locations, different markets. It’s all about the people. And yes, it’s different to a traditional restaurant [model].

I’d say that we will bring even more of that kind of spirit into the Tarantino Family, especially in the new projects that we’re doing.

– Is that something that’s going to change with you as the new owner? Is it going to be one entity or this umbrella-type of structure?

– We are already in the process of changing it, streamlining it, so that the ownership would be clearer and more transparent. We obviously are an international company and we have to make sure that we are completely transparent and clean, we cannot afford to do anything murky. 100% transparency of the operations is the priority.

– Dmytro Fedotenkov told me that Tarantino Family consists of 58 different restaurants. Is that correct?

– I believe so. At the moment I’m not 100% into day-to-day operations, because of the distance and the circumstances. But yes, 58 sounds like a right amount.

– And it’s not only Kyiv, right? We’re talking different cities all over Ukraine?

– Yes.

– What number of cities is that exactly? A ballpark figure?

– You know, I wouldn’t want to speculate, because I don’t really know, how you define cities in Ukraine. For example, we have a few venues, which are just outside Kyiv. Is that a different city? Or is it the same?

– That’s all Kyiv. But I mean there are different venues in different cities. 

– Absolutely. But again, it’s about the spirit, it’s about not giving up. It’s for the people we’re trying to develop these projects, to make their lives better by creating these fantastic venues where they can come together. That’s the key. And especially in these tough times. At the moment all our restaurants actually fall into the Kyiv region.

– When we spoke to Fedotenkov after the acquisition was confirmed, he told us that “events of May” were a factor in his decision to exit the business. [In May the head office of Tarantino Family was raided by the police, the company was accused of having ties and shuffling money to Russia, which Tarantino Family's then owners denied.] Did you consider these events when you were in talks to buy the company?

– I would like you to ask Dima about these topics, because I don’t want to talk on his behalf. But no, my interest in this project is the beauty of the project. That’s my motivation here.

– The timing of it all seems strange though: there’s this pressure on Fedotenkov, then he says that he exited this business or, maybe, created this optics of a business exit…

– It has nothing to do with my decision to take on the project. I took on this project based on the merits of the project.

– Surely it must’ve been a factor in your due diligence process.

– Obviously one does property diligence, but I think Dima did nothing wrong. And what we did was a very clear-cut, straightforward deal, which has nothing to do with that.

– Let me just ask the final question on this. Do you know who Ihor Kucherenko is?

– I heard of him, but I don’t know anything about him, really. He definetely has no shares in the restaurants and no cooperation with Tarantino Family.

– There’s this basic understanding here in Kyiv that he’s the de-facto beneficiary of Tarantino Family.

– That’s not the case now, anyway.

– And you were not dealing with him in the acquisition process?

– I have not dealt with him ever.

– I was also meant to ask you about your son Felix’s involvement, because he’s basically the face of your London operation. Is he going to be involved in the Kyiv project? Or is this more of a personal venture for you?

– We have a team, which travels between different locations and helps to build up the local management. In the end we will have a strong local management, but we have different specialists for the different areas and tasks. So yeah, we will travel back and forth between Kyiv, London, Germany and Vienna.

– Are you planning to visit Kyiv soon? How involved are you going to be on the ground?

– It very much depends on the situation [in Ukraine], with the war and everything. The last time I was there was like four or five weeks ago, it was quite a travel experience, going by train from Warsaw to Kyiv and then back. I hope that the situation will improve at some point. And then the air travel would be possible again, or at least a faster train connection. I’m very much looking forward to spend quite a bit of time in Kyiv and help this operation.

Zhytniy Market

– Tarantino Family was behind the recent reconstruction project [with Zoryaniy cinema]. They reconstructed the building and opened a restaurant [La Fontana] on the first floor and a business centre on the upper floors. Is that the reference for your Zhytniy Market project?

– I don’t know the details of that experience, I have to say. But it sounds like it is something very similar.

Basically what we’re going to do in the market is contain and preserve all the original character, all the community aspect of it. And then we would like to add more elements to it, which is really this outdoor element, but also the food hall element. The garden element, also. And we’re going to turn it into the place where people would want to spend their time there. Starting with the coffee in the morning, then lunch, we will also have a kids’ corner where the children could play. In the evenings there would be dinners, people coming together and falling in love, we’ll have DJs or live music… It’s an all-day paradise – that’s what we’re really trying to create here.

– You’ve mentioned the Madrid and Lisbon markets as reference points.

– Yeah, but the Time Out markets are pretty much only about food. And that’s way too short, from my perspective. People need more than just food. We want people to stay much longer, we want them to enjoy culture there, we want them to enjoy each other there. So we’re talking about a multidimensional version of food markets, the food market 2.0, I would say. We would probably have like 20 types of food to choose from, different national [cuisines].

– It’s the food hall model…

– I wouldn’t call it a food hall, it always sounds horrible. [he laughs] It’s a community space, where there’s also wonderful food.

– You’re also on the record saying that you rent out only the second floor of the market.

– We very much want to contain the first floor, enhance it, ensure that it’s really-really lively. That’s the heart of the market and we want to keep it.

But yes, there’s so much unused space on the second floor, there’s also a lot of unused space outdoors. So we want to open the market up, so there would be a journey, so it wouldn’t be one-dimensional.

– But the market will still function as an actual market?

– Absolutely, very much so. The idea is to enhance it, to make the place more attractive and successful.

– You’ve also mentioned that you’re cooperating on this project with local authorities and the market administration. What exactly does that cooperation entail?

– We have met with them, I think we’re looking very much eye to eye there. The market could be enhanced, we could do more. And they will be an essential part of management, they will have a lot of input on how to do things. For us it’s very important, because we’re operating in different countries and areas and we always need that local support and input.

– The rent agreement your team made with the market administration [via Prozorro] was finalised back in April, is that right?

– Yes.

– Can you confirm, that the rent fee is a million hryvnias a month?

– I would like not to speak about the details of the deal, because it’s really something that we need to keep confidential. But all sales numbers are available at the Prozorro.

– I see. And it wasn’t Tarantino Family, but the Tangerine legal entity that applied for a rent?

– I’m managing the whole Tangerine family now, we are part of that whole thing [Tarantino Family]. It’s a level above Tangerine, but yes, it’s all one family.

– The problem was, other bidder for the market was the Aterly business entity, which is also associated with Tarantino Family. Can you comment on that?

– I don’t want to comment on it, I was not in the details at the time. But we did our due diligence, we saw that everything went straight and properly. I have no reason to believe there was anything that was undue.

– I have to ask you about this concern that the Podil community now has about the Zhytniy Market. Our team has covered the plans to redevelop the market for the last five years, we’ve spoken to numerous directors and managing teams. Most of them told us that the building needs reconstruction. But in Kyiv local jargon the term “reconstruction” basically means that you can tear the building down and put up another in its place. So let me ask you about the specific wording here: does Zhytniy Market need a repair or does it need a reconstruction?

– I mean, it would be absolutely stupid to tear the building down, because that’s the character of the place. And we want to keep this character.

If you look at the examples of our previous projects… For example, we have a venue in a church building in Mayfair, the most expensive part of London. We completely renovated it, over the five years we restored every single detail of the church to its original beauty. And the same is true about our location in Elephant Castle, where we kept the industrial character of the place. And the place that I’m talking to you now [in Vienna] is under the conservation order, so we’re going to keep this industrial fabric and make it work.

So it’s absolutely about repairing it: making sure that the roof doesn’t leak, making sure that nothing rusts away. But we’re not changing the place. This is the value of the place, its character and history. And we very much want to maintain that.

Let me repeat: No changes to the main constructive elements just repairs to keep the building intact and save.

– As I’ve mentioned it, we’ve covered the place for quite some time and we’ve seen numerous proposals to renovate the market. One problem that different managing teams kept going back to were the basic communications problems: water, electricity, central heating etc. Is that something that you’re aware of?

– We are aware of that there are issues. We have a good standing with local authorities, so hopefully they will support us, especially considering that we’re trying to build something for the people. But in the end, it’s difficult times in Kyiv now. And we have to make sure that what we’re building here works under this difficult circumstances. And we are used to difficult circumstances.

Maybe, the heating will be on only in certain areas or certain parts of the day, because you can’t heat the whole place. But there are solutions, creative solutions that we are exploring now. But we will make sure that it’ sustainable and that it can operate without having to drain too much resources. As you know, resources are probably at risk at the moment in Kyiv.

– Is there any timeframe on the launch of the new Zhitniy Market project?

– I’d say it this way: it’s obviously dependant on the situation in Kyiv. But in principle we are moving ahead, we are starting to do think. It’s going to be a gradual development, we will open in different phases over different times. We’re still still in the process of figuring out the timing and different elements [of the project]. But we will start to see differences pretty soon. But because of the situation it’s difficult to give a firm date on [the launch].