Marlon Abela

Marlon Abela (born 1975) is a Lebanese-British restaurateur, businessman and columnist. He is the founder and chairman of the Marlon Abela Restaurant Corporation (MARC), a privately owned international hospitality company based in Mayfair, London.

Marlon Abela
Born1975
Lebanon
NationalityBritish
Occupationrestauranter
EmployerBankrupt
Spouse2
Children4
Parent(s)Albert Abela
Barbel Abela

Early life

Marlon Abela was born in Lebanon in 1975.[1][2] His father, Albert Abela, was the chairman of the Abela Group, a catering business, and a luxury hotelier.[2] His mother, Barbel, is German.[2]

Abela grew up in Grasse, France, and Monaco.[2]

Career

Abela started working for his father's business at the age of seventeen.[2] By 2001, he served as its executive vice president.

Abela founded the Marlon Abela Restaurant Corporation (MARC) in 2001. The company is headquartered in Mayfair. Abela serves as its chairman. Via the company, he is the owner of Umu and The Greenhouse, two restaurants in Mayfair, London.[3] Both restaurants received two Michelin stars.[2] He also bought ownership of The Square restaurant from co-owners, chef patron Phil Howard and wine expert Nigel Platts-Martin, in March 2016 for US$4 million.[4][5] He also became the owner of Morton's Club, a private members club on Berkeley Square in Mayfair.[2] In Manhattan, New York City, he owned another restaurant called A Voce,[1] which closed.[6]

With François Payard, Marlon Abela co-founded François Payard Bakeries, a chain of bakeries,[2] which closed in New York in 2018.[7] In 2014, Marlon Abela acquired the historical wine merchant OW Loeb.[8] In early 2018 a series of delays in payments to suppliers and deliveries to clients triggered a series of hostile press articles.[9] Abelas's company said in January 2018 "O.W.Loeb intends to honour its commitments to their clients and is in the process of doing so."[7] The company relocated to the MARC head office in Mayfair with new senior personnel, and said that Abela was "looking forward to implementing new strategies".[10]

Abela is a columnist for Spear's Magazine, where he writes about wine.[2]

Abela was served with a bankruptcy petition by lawyers in October 2019. In 2020 The Square was shut down by administrators during lunch service,[11] Umu went into administration, and Morton's Club also ceased trading.[12] However, Umu is still trading under new ownership.

Personal life

In 2011 Marlon Abela married Nadya Abela, originally from Russia and they have two children together. Marlon has two more children from his first marriage.[2] Nadya announced on Instagram that she is now separated from him.

References
  1. Strimpel, Zoe (17 November 2010). "The food entrepreneur who's hitting the MARC". City A.M. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  2. Walsh, John (14 September 2012). "Marlon Abela: 'Aged eight, I was fine dining'". The Independent. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  3. "Sunday Times Rich List". The Sunday Times. No. 54. 26 April 2015.
  4. Harmer, Janet (22 March 2016). "Philip Howard leaves the Square as restaurant is sold to Marlon Abela". The Caterer. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  5. Megaw, Nicholas (18 January 2018). "Venerable London wine merchant imperilled by new owner". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 February 2021. Also accessible via ProQuest; document no. 2002889566.
  6. Serena Dai (22 January 2018). "All Three Payard Bakery Locations Shutter - Eater NY". Eater. New York.
  7. Leitch, Andrew (23 January 2018). "Mayfair Restaurateur's Company 'Imperils' London Wine Merchant". Eater London. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  8. McKenna, Gemma (8 December 2014). "Restaurateur Marlon Abela buys into wine merchant OW Loeb". Harpers. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  9. Megaw, Nicholas (19 January 2018). "Venerable London wine merchant imperilled by new owner". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  10. McKenna, Gemma (16 January 2018). "LOEB NOT GONE: RELOCATION TO MAYFAIR ANNOUNCED". The Drinks Business. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  11. James McAllister (3 February 2020). "Michelin-starred Mayfair restaurant The Square forced to close after property seized". Big Hospitality.
  12. Jay Rayner (16 February 2020). "The Gallivant, Camber: 'Unfussy and extremely satisfying cooking' – restaurant review". The Observer.


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