Grizzly Hospitality was founded in 2011 by Alex Zibi.

Originally, the group was founded as a consultancy and investment vehicle to help emerging concepts and large-scale projects, and raise funds for new development and growth. Zibi’s first deal involved raising seven figures for a combo deal involving Sushi Samba London and Duck & Waffle, two of Europe’s highest-grossing restaurants for the past eight years.

From there, Grizzly Hospitality launched an operations branch to create, develop, and operate its own units and concepts.

Ozgur Karakas, a University of Wales finance graduate joined the team as Chief Operating Officer in 2016. With a background in hospitality running operations for Busaba Eathai, a Hakkasan Group-related concept, Ozgur’s expertise contributed greatly to the creation of 4 different concepts hiring well over 100 employees.