Igor Sukhomlyn, one of the Ukrainian celebrity restauranteurs and MIM SEMBA 2008 hosted a special meeting for MIM’s community in his new restaurant “Fish&Pussycat” in Besarabka, one of the poshest neighborhoods in Kyiv.

“I started my restaurant business because I wanted to have a place where I can have meetings with my business partners when they were visiting my hometown Chernihiv. At first, I did not want to be engaged in operations,” Igor said. His first restaurant is still operating in Chernihiv.

“However, after 2008 I had to restructure as all my assets except for the restaurants turned into liabilities,” Igor was telling. “At a certain point I felt forced but later I got captivated.”

Unlike Europeans, Ukrainians could be demanding when it comes to restaurants. In particular, Ukrainians give the mostly negative reviews in the Foursquare. In Igor’s opinion, the neediness is caused by long period of good product and good service deficit. “Ukrainians are always asking for a cellular charger, free water, umbrellas, etc. We always need something,” Igor shares his experience.

However, the situation is changing. People are getting less needy and mostly follow general trends. Currently, people are after local cuisine and produce, healthy food and family-friendly restaurants. Igor is also sure that oriental cuisines will soon be in vogue in Ukraine. He is sure that food trends develop from the West. “At first Americans had felled in love with sushi and then Japan paid attention to the dish,” Igor explained.

Funding the restaurant business was another topic of discussion during the meeting. Investments, payback period and ROI were discussed. In particular, Igor mentioned that nowadays it takes longer to get returns on investment compared to several years ago. He also said that restaurants are more than more than merely money-making enterprise. “The business is very exciting and satisfying.”