Today !Fest holding includes 18 establishments each with an original concept: “Gas Lamp”, “Theatre of Beer “Pravda”, “House of Legends”, “Lviv Handmade Chocolate”, “Ribs “Under Arsenal” and others. The company also owns facilities in Krakow, Kyiv, Prague and Baku. The holding includes not only restaurants, but also grocery stores “Dido” and “Two steps from the hut”, the clothing brand ” Galicia Aviation”, “Publishing House of the Old Lion”, souvenir shops “Lvivsky tsyats’ky”, development company “Kvitka” and tourist company and hostel “Just Lviv It!”.

Andriy Khudo, Yurko Nazarchuk and Dmitro Gerasimov founded the network in 2007. The first institution of the holding was the “Near Diana” restaurant, which is located plainly on the Market Square around the Diana Fountain.

The next venture – “Kryivka” restaurant became the basis for the holding’s development. The institution was the right idea at the right time. The concept aims to cover the events of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army times. The restaurant serves dishes of field cuisine in a military environment. The building is decorated as a true guerrilla hiding place, where Ukrainian music is played. To enter the visitors are asked for a slogan and are treated with the honey liquor.

The mission of !Fest is to create a unique space of positive emotions and impressions, as well as make yourself, city and country a better place. Holding aims to become a global company in the restaurant and chocolate business.

A restaurant-museum “Gas Lamp” situated on Virmenska St. commemorates the invention of a kerosene lamp in Lviv in 1853. The restaurant has a copy of the original first lamp and possesses over 200 exhibits of kerosene lamps. The motto of the restaurant is “Go to the light” because of a large lantern located on the top terrace with a tremendous view of Lviv rooftops.

In the summer 2018, the artistic center “Dzyga” also became part of Holding of emotions !Fest chain. This involves combining the efforts of the holding in conducting economic activity and at the same time achieving the goals in the field of culture and preservation of the main mission of “Dzyga”. The artistic center will remain unchanged and the art gallery will continue its activities.

“Lviv Coffee Mine” is considered the longest coffee shop-bookstore in Ukraine. Legend of the institution says that there is a coffee mine exclusively on Lviv’s Market Square, where you can get the most delicious coffee. Visitors can enjoy more than 30 types of coffee beverages and learn about the role of coffee in the state of Ukraine.

“Under the Golden Rose” is the Galician Jewish tavern, which reproduces the warmth of a true Jewish establishment. The restaurant is located on Staroyevreiska St., where there used to be a synagogue of the Golden Rose before 1942. Visitors can try on hats and taste dumplings with fish and other traditional dishes. The menu of the restaurant looks like a literary almanac that tells about the history of the Jews of Lviv. The feature of the establishment is the lack of prices, which allows visitors and waiter to bargain for the prices of custom dishes.

Source: Space of business journal.
Photos: !Fest.