"Biography"

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In the restaurant business for more than 13 years. Before that, he was engaged in selling products from Europe; since 1995, he introduced new European clothing brands to the St. Petersburg market. In 2003, I decided to start a restaurant business with my partners.

"News"

Catering operators for VIP guests at the World Cup have been announced

The organizing committee of the World Cup has selected suppliers of restaurant services for guests of VIP and VVIP zones at stadiums hosting matches. Guests of the organizing committee and delegation are invited to these places.

Arena Foods organizes catering at stadiums in Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Samara and at the Spartak stadium in Moscow. The same company is responsible for feeding the fans. Catering is part of the Shokoladnitsa group of companies owned by Alexey Kolobov.

The company that will feed VIPs and fans at the World Cup in Yekaterinburg has been named

Food for fans and VIPs at the World Cup matches in Yekaterinburg will be provided by the Arena Foods company, part of Alexey Kolobov's Shokoladnitsa group of companies. This was announced by the General Director of the 2018 World Cup organizing committee, Alexey Sorokin.

Arena Foods will feed VIP (seats by invitation for guests of the organizing committee and delegations) in Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara and Moscow, as well as fans at all stadiums, Kommersant writes. In addition to this company, restaurant services will be provided by Novikov Catering (in Moscow and Sochi) and Ginza Project (St. Petersburg). The Fusion group (was the catering operator at the Sochi Olympics) will serve dear guests in Rostov, Kaliningrad, Volgograd and Saransk.

Ginza co-founder Vadim Lapin won in court against restaurateur Vladimir Spirin

Co-founder and co-owner of the Ginza Project Vadim Lapin won in court against restaurateur Vladimir Spirin. The latter tried to prove the fictitiousness of the transactions to sell Ginza Project its shares in the Na Rechke and SunDay restaurants.

Restaurateur Vladimir Spirin, who tried to sue the shares in the Na Rechke and SunDay restaurants sold to Ginza Project in 2013, lost the appeal. Representatives of Ginza reported this on Wednesday, and this information was confirmed by the second party.

Ginza Project will invest 750 million rubles. to the grocery chain

The All Foods grocery store chain, part of the Ginza Project restaurant holding, will increase by an order of magnitude within three years. During a crisis, Russians are more likely to save money on going to restaurants than on food purchases

The Ginza Project restaurant holding will open 30 All Foods grocery stores in the next three years in Russian cities with a population of over a million, Dmitry Sergeev, founder and senior partner of the holding, told RBC. Investments in one store amount to about 25 million rubles, some of which will involve third-party investors, he noted. Thus, a total of 750 million rubles will be spent on opening the network.

Co-owner of Ginza Project will help bankers assess risks

Vadim Lapin, co-owner of the Ginza Project restaurant holding, joined the board of directors of Sauber Bank. In this post, Lapin replaced the general director of the Printing House “Pechatnya” Irina Rudenya, the press center of the financial organization reported.

According to the bank’s shareholder Alexey Smolyanov, the change was made to increase the efficiency of solving new problems. Vadim Lapin will oversee risk assessment and remuneration issues.

The Kuibyshev court, despite the formally expired statute of limitations, satisfied the demands of the already disgraced manager of the Baltstroy company, Dmitry Sergeev, against the founder of the Ginza Project restaurant chain, Vadim Lapin. The restaurateur in 2012, even before the Mikhalchenko case, borrowed $1.2 million from his partner, but did not return it on time and now owes 2.5 times more. At the same time, interest and penalties accrue every day of delay.

Dmitry Sergeev/Archive/Dmitry Lebedev/Kommersant

The Kuibyshevsky District Court, represented by Judge Maria Vasilyeva, decided on November 6: Vadim Lapin and Eggplant LLC owe Dmitry Sergeev a little more than 204 million rubles. When paying off the debt, to this amount the founder of the Ginza Project network will have to add interest (24% per annum) and a penalty (0.1% per day) from the contract for $1.2 million, which will accrue from September 26, 2018 to the settlement date.

Dmitry Sergeev filed a lawsuit against his business partner on July 16, 2018. The requirements state that by February 6, 2013, Vadim Lapin received two payments from Dmitry Sergeev, amounting to a substantial amount of $1.296 million, or about 40 million rubles at the exchange rate at that time. Lapin undertook to repay the amount with interest - 24% per annum by September 30, 2013, and for each day of delay, a 0.1% penalty of 40 million was added to the amount of debt. Moreover, the agreement stipulates that the total amount of the fine cannot be more than 100% of the entire amount. The guarantor under the loan agreement was Baklazhan LLC, which managed the Ginza restaurant of the same name in the Galereya shopping and entertainment complex. No payment has been received by the due date.

Sergeev actually delayed going to court for 5 years, while under this loan agreement the statute of limitations is 3 years. That is, the issue would have to begin to be resolved in court before the fall of 2016, which Lapin’s lawyers tirelessly reminded the judge of during the final court hearing. But, as the entire Russian business community knows, since March 2016 there has been a ban on communicating with a notary, which was lifted only at the end of June 2018. By the way, as of November 6, Sergeev is under arrest.

In addition, for a long time, the lawyers defending the interests of Sergeev were unable to find receipts for the receipt of funds by Vadim Lapin - they were seized by law enforcement agencies and lost in the voluminous materials of one of the criminal cases in which the partner of the ex-head of BaltStroy was involved. As a result, the judge believed the arguments and took the side of Dmitry Sergeev, satisfying his demands in full. Lapin's lawyers told Fontanka that they would appeal this decision.

As noted during the trial between Sergeev and Lapin, the parties were negotiating a peaceful settlement. Specific amounts were not mentioned, but, as an interlocutor familiar with the situation told Fontanka, Vadim Lapin was always ready to pay 80 million rubles, that is, the loan amount and a penalty, but Dmitry Sergeev was not satisfied with this arrangement.

According to Fontanka, today three more restaurants of the St. Petersburg chain of Vadim Lapin Ginza Project feature Dmitry Sergeev’s products: “Spices and Joys” on Vasilyevsky Island, Moskovsky Prospekt and Belinsky Street. Another 41 restaurants in St. Petersburg, part of the Ginza group, are not associated with the businessman. Of the institutions associated with Sergeev in terms of finance, only one (on Moskovsky Prospekt) now meets his expectations, although he gave 280 million rubles for their development. In the SPARK database, reporting was found for only two Spices and Joy establishments, and their profit in 2017 was less than 200 thousand rubles with revenue of 190 million rubles.

It is no secret that Vadim Lapin is building a restaurant business empire according to the following principle: each restaurant is a separate legal entity in which, one way or another, he and the investor have shares. Lapin completely organizes the operation of the establishment, while the investor provides financing for this. Within 3 years, the establishment returns the investor’s money, and then begins to generate income, which Lapin and the investor share in a certain proportion. Typically 30/70. However, according to an informed interlocutor of Fontanka, in this case the dispute is over a personal loan, and not over investment in a business.

By the way, at the same time, this time Vadim Lapin is actively arguing with restaurateur Vladimir Spirin over entrepreneurial investments. Here, businessmen did not share a share in the profits of the Na Rechke and Sunday restaurants. In August 2018, the court issued writs of execution for the recovery of 114 million rubles in favor of Vladimir Spirin, although before that in courtrooms. At the same time, the court banned the founder of the Ginza Project from traveling abroad. Note that Lapin, anticipating this, left in advance. Despite this, last Saturday, November 3, the restaurateur arrived in St. Petersburg. Gesture of a confident person. And according to Fontanka, the point is not that on November 7, the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region will hold another meeting on the dispute with Spirin. Many knowledgeable people say that in addition to all this, the tax authorities are preparing questions for the city’s most famous restaurateur.

Mikhail Grachev,

Vadim Lapin needs no introduction. The most famous restaurateur, co-owner of the Ginza Project holding, a spectacular man, always noticeable at all social parties, he does not at all pursue the attributes of a beautiful life, although nothing worldly is alien to him. Another thing is important - by all appearances, a person is interested in living and doing his business, and therefore he knows it thoroughly, delving into all the intricacies and respecting the same professionals. There is an economic downturn, and the Ginza Project holding is opening more and more establishments! What else, if not this, is the main indicator of the correctness of the path?

— The number of restaurants you and your partner Dmitry Sergeev have opened exceeds a dozen. How well do you understand what is happening in each of them?

— There are really a lot of establishments that are part of the Ginza Project holding. To be precise, we have 23 restaurants alone. We are not going to stop there. Four more restaurants will open in the near future: two in St. Petersburg (Bar “Begemot” and “Volga-Volga”) and two in Moscow (“Ded Pihto” and Piccolino). Dmitry Sergeev and I personally control all projects. I regularly visit all St. Petersburg establishments. Sometimes it turns out that I have breakfast at Tsar, lunch at Francesco, and dinner at Ginza. Dmitry oversees Moscow establishments, often comes to the Northern capital and actually flies monthly to New York, where the Los Dados restaurant has been operating for several years and the Marie Vanna project has recently opened its doors. We know everything and even more about the holding's establishments. However, this does not mean that we do not trust our managers. On the contrary, our team consists of talented professionals who you can always rely on.

— In fact, all your establishments are popular. Do you have the secret of the Pied Piper of Hamelin - the pipe you use to lure guests?

— Our secret is many years of experience and a worthy reputation. It would seem that the simplest components of success! But, of course, I won’t tell you how to create a reputation. Let it remain a secret.

“Once I heard a casual phrase from one of the heads of St. Petersburg institutions regarding you. He said: “Lapin? Everything is always fine with him!” You have really skillfully created the image of a very successful person. Are there really no failures and “punctures” in life? Have you sold your soul to the devil? (I hope you take this joke as a joke!!!)

- I didn’t sell my soul to the devil - he has a very busy schedule, I also work a lot. We just couldn’t meet and agree on everything! But seriously, in order to be successful, you have to work tirelessly. I have a favorite saying in Latin: Labor omnia vincit improbus (Hard work conquers all). Of course, all my victories would not have happened if there were no difficulties along the way. It is problems that make us stronger, temper us, give us will and increase our desire for success. For me, difficulties are not an obstacle, but rather an incentive.

— The year before last, almost on the eve of the economic recession, you opened a Mexican restaurant in New York. How popular and profitable is it now? How did the crisis affect him?

— At the moment, the project is commercially profitable. It consistently generates profits. To dine at Los Dados, you now need to make a reservation in advance. The guests of the establishment are Russian people who have lived in New York for a long time, American show business stars, businessmen, entrepreneurs, and socialites. As for the crisis, in the United States this economic phenomenon is developing in a special way. The crisis either affects it very acutely or is not felt at all. We were lucky in this regard: the difficult situation did not affect the Los Dados restaurant in any way.

— How difficult (or easy?) is it for you to work here and in the USA? The question concerns the registration of the establishment, product quality control, and, of course, personnel - although quality control and personnel may be related.

— In Russia, the restaurant business has actually been put on stream. This does not mean that we do not have difficulties when opening a new establishment. However, all the problems that may arise here are easily overcome. In New York, working is not more difficult physically, but rather psychologically. An unfamiliar country with diametrically opposed traditions and ways of life frightened me at the very beginning of my journey. I didn't quite know where exactly I should start. Both here and there have their own bureaucracy. The same alcohol licenses, different forms of ownership for their citizens and foreigners. In the US it is difficult to negotiate a contract for premises. There is very little available real estate in New York, especially in Manhattan, and it is not getting any bigger. To conclude a rental agreement, you need to provide the most complete information about the company. If the company's name is not heard, all doors are abruptly closed, and further conversation is not possible. In America, there is a kind of right of first contract that is purchased - that is, in order to obtain the right to rent, you must officially pay for this right. Regarding the staff, I can say that the American style of work differs significantly from the Russian one. Chefs, sous chefs and managers in America know their job very well, they are hardworking and responsible. But, let’s say, waiters sometimes lack delicacy and charm. And hostesses cannot always charm guests. These little things have to be fixed. The quality of the products is virtually impeccable, of course, if you choose the right supplier.

— How does the current situation in the American restaurant market differ from the situation in Russia?

— In the West, consumer culture is very developed. In the USA, people have breakfast in cafes, lunch in restaurants, and order food for dinner at home. Business meetings are also often held not in the office, but in a favorite establishment. Their lifestyle sometimes simply does not allow them to eat at home. A quiet family dinner is a whole event for an American. Due to this state of affairs, there is a huge demand for restaurants. This leads to large cash flows. The establishment pays for itself in the shortest possible time and begins to make a profit at lightning speed. In Russia everything is different. Most high-end restaurants don't open until 1 p.m. It is not yet customary for us to hold business meetings in the morning, and therefore breakfasts begin after 12.00. In the evenings there are many guests in the establishments, and at lunchtime the restaurants are sometimes empty. Our guests are more discerning and demanding than Americans, which is why sometimes difficulties arise.

— What requirements do you place on your staff? Is it easy for you to break up with someone?

— I am convinced that a person must be absolutely competent in his field of activity. As a rule, we hire professionals with extensive experience. This doesn't mean we don't take on newbies. Often young people come to us who have not yet established themselves. In such cases, we try to help, teach, and give knowledge. The main thing, in my opinion, is to see genuine interest in the eyes of the staff, then everything will work out! I can’t say that I part with people easily. I always give a second chance. If it doesn’t work out in one institution, you can always try yourself in another project. However, if a person is unable to learn from his mistakes, he cannot be part of our team.

— How do you assess the level of Russian chefs and waiters? How, in your opinion, is the situation with service personnel different in Moscow, St. Petersburg and New York? What should our people learn from the Americans and, conversely, what could the Americans learn from us?

— I have already noted that in the USA people are used to working differently. American chefs are true virtuosos of their craft. They are well versed in the culinary arts, constantly invent something new, are interested in the successes of their colleagues, and take part in international competitions. The waiters' work style is not entirely traditional in the classical sense of the Russian people. Americans are accustomed to slight negligence; sometimes they allow themselves some deviations from the rules. In addition, according to American labor law, the working day should not last longer than 8 hours. Therefore, all personnel in America work in 2-3 shifts. Russian cooks and sous-chefs have made a real breakthrough in the restaurant business. It was they who brought our country to a new level of development of the gastronomic business. I am grateful to Russian specialists for their tenacity, patience and the highest class that they have been demonstrating lately. I don’t think that our chefs should learn from their Western colleagues. In this case, alignment with the West is not entirely appropriate. Russia is a country of amazing culinary traditions that need to be preserved. As for service personnel, I am convinced that this segment is actively developing in our country. The waiters and hostesses are true professionals. Young people are used to working very hard, they easily and with pleasure absorb knowledge, which they subsequently apply in practice.

- You are constantly in sight, constantly moving somewhere. This is undoubtedly a plus for the development of your business, but constant movement does not give you time to think about “where am I going?” Where and when can you stop and think about the right path?

— In general, activity analysis happens in my head all the time. But when it comes to life values ​​and priorities, my family helps me a lot with this. My beloved wife literally saves me from city rhythms, bustle, and extraneous thoughts. We often make decisions together, she always calms me down if something doesn't go as we would like. Anna is the wisest woman, it is her advice that I listen to. Family gives me harmony and confidence. This constant allows you to stay afloat and, moreover, choose the right direction of movement.

— Your field of activity at first glance allows you to relax at any moment and in any establishment. But you probably cannot perceive going to a restaurant as a vacation. What is rest for you?

— I can’t say that I don’t relax in restaurants. On the contrary, I am friends with many restaurateurs, I like to visit their establishments, thus stepping away from business for a while. Agree, it’s always nice to watch how others work. But if we are talking about a long-term vacation, then I always choose travel. My wife and I have been in love with Italy for a long time. This is a special country that attracts me like a magnet. I am attached to the carefree atmosphere of the Italian Riviera, I love truly Italian cuisine.

— You can’t “promote” so many successful projects without loving this field of activity. It can’t be that you don’t know how to cook! Do you know how? What cuisine do you like the most?

— I love to cook and, it seems to me, I know how to cook. True, I rarely stand behind the stove. We have many friends in Italy, they all know their native cuisine very well. It was thanks to them that I mastered many original dishes.

— Can you name the formula for success? Surely you managed to create it!

— My formula is simple and concise. Success is love for your work and respect for people.

Co-owner of the Ginza Project restaurant holding Vadim Lapin (Photo: Ginza Project)

In several dozen companies associated with the Ginza group, the composition of shareholders has changed. In particular, as the Delovoy Petersburg newspaper learned, the founder of the group, Vadim Lapin, transferred his shares in 38 companies with revenue of at least 1.1 billion rubles to his son.

The change of shareholders in companies began after court decisions on the dispute between Lapin and restaurateur Vladimir Spirin entered into legal force. Lapin, Spirin, and Marina Ivanenko were previously partners in the Sunday and Na Rechke restaurants. In 2013, Spirin sold shares in these restaurants to partners at nominal value. They needed this to obtain a loan from Promsvyazbank secured by shares in the authorized capital.

According to the terms of the agreement between the founders, in the future the shares were to be returned to Vladimir Spirin at the same nominal price. But the reverse deal did not take place, although until 2016 he received the compensation provided for in the agreement. After the termination of payments, Vladimir Spirin tried to challenge transactions for the sale of shares in restaurants in arbitration, but to no avail. Last year, he filed civil suits against his former partners to recover penalties for non-payment of compensation and won the case. Now Vadim Lapin personally must pay 42 million rubles, and Marina Ivanenko - 30 million and 42 million rubles. on various transactions. Another decision to collect another 30 million rubles from the founder of Ginza. has not yet entered into legal force, as it was challenged in the second instance.

However, after the first court decisions came into force, the media learned that Vadim Lapin’s shares in 38 different companies passed to his son Mark Lapin in a few days. Also in July, Vadim Lapin’s partner Marina Ivanenko left the co-ownership of 32 legal entities, including those associated with Ginza. She is associated with Dmitry Sergeev, a long-time partner of Vadim Lapin and the second founder of Ginza. She abandoned her shares in the authorized capital of the companies in favor of 74-year-old Nina Sergeeva.

At the same time, according to SPARK, Vadim Lapin remains a co-owner of 22 companies (both related to the restaurant group and not) with total revenue of at least 925 million rubles. Shares in 14 of them are pledged to OJSC Promsvyazbank, that is, their alienation requires the bank’s consent to change the founders. According to the businessman, the process of registering shares in the business for children began a long time ago, back in 2014, and is not associated with lawsuits.

As for the legal proceedings with Spirin, Lapin noted that they have been going on since 2016. “The courts have repeatedly confirmed that we were right, and we won the cases, we hope it will be the same this time. This decision will be challenged in a higher court. It’s too early to put an end to the process,” says the businessman.

Vladimir Spirin, in turn, connects the change of shareholders with an attempt by his former partners to hide assets. “I believe that Lapin and Ivanenko are trying to evade collection. It is clear from their actions that assets are being siphoned off, that they are trying to evade execution of court decisions,” he told reporters.

Reference

The international restaurant holding Ginza Project was created in St. Petersburg in 2003 by Dmitry Sergeev and Vadim Lapin. Currently, the holding owns and operates more than 150 restaurants in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Baku, as well as New York and London. Among the flagship projects are the restaurants “Mari Vanna”, Butler, Sixty, Uilliam’s, Christian, “Carlson”, Terrassa, “Mansarda”, etc., the holding also owns the Danilovsky market in Moscow. Often Ginza Project participates in projects not as an investor, but as a management company.

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Vadim Valentinovich Lapin (born November 2, 1963, St. Petersburg) is a Russian entrepreneur, restaurateur, co-owner of the Ginza Project holding.

Education [ | ]

Graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Organization of Road Transport in 1986.

Interview: Vadim Lapin

The co-owner of the Ginza Project holding shared his plans for world domination over the phone from St. Petersburg.

In addition to the restaurant business, we would like to talk to you about a special breed of people called “pitmos” - have you heard such a slang word? People who live in two cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, are eternal passengers of the Sapsan.

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I try not to limit myself to these two cities, I visit many places, and our restaurants have opened not only in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but also in London and New York.

So you're just a citizen of the world?

I try to be one. Although I like both St. Petersburg and Moscow, I still try to broaden my horizons.

Which city where you have business interests is more interesting to do business in?

It’s interesting to open restaurants in St. Petersburg because it’s my hometown. We always wanted to do something for this city that was not there before us. It was very nice when Luciano Spalletti said that one of the reasons he agreed to head Zenit was that there is a Francesco restaurant in St. Petersburg. For him, food is very important, as for all Italians. In any city you visit, the first thing you decide is where you will go to eat. For a normal, well-rounded, educated person, this is truly one of the main tasks - which restaurant to spend the evening in. If it is known about a city that there are good restaurants there - like in London, in Western Europe - I go to this city calmly. And in many European capitals, for example in Eastern Europe, the restaurant market is not as developed as ours. Well, it’s good that we overtook them according to these criteria. It’s nice when some stars come, enter our restaurants and say that the level of our restaurant culture has grown very much, that what was ten years ago and what they see now are completely different things. It’s not for nothing that we open restaurants that are successful in both New York and London. Moreover, we expect this success; we know that the level of our chefs and staff is comparable to the level that exists in these cities. We don't just come to try. For example, our project “MariVanna” is no longer a project on a city scale, but on a global scale.

And your focus on the elite, which Novikov used to do in Moscow, and you now do in both cities, is this also in order to spread the word about your restaurants around the world?

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And that too. But in any case, we make restaurants for guests, and what kind of guests are in this restaurant... It’s good, of course, if the elite loves us. It’s good if the business elite loves it. This creates certain flows, people come home and tell their friends: “We were in Ginza, so-and-so was sitting on the right, so-and-so was sitting on the left.” In such an environment, people feel that they have come to the right place, which is visited by good guests.

Namely, Ginza, after all, several years ago came up with the idea of ​​​​creating personalized restaurants so that the name of some celebrity would be on the sign?

Dima Sergeev came up with the idea that a person whom everyone perceives in one capacity - for example, a famous TV presenter - would be interested in trying himself as a cook or restaurant owner. The idea turned out to be very good: if you offer any guest to open your own restaurant, he will immediately have a bunch of ideas. Everyone has their favorite dishes, favorite restaurants. And from a PR point of view, it’s good - there is an opportunity to prove yourself in a new business. Most light up and simply work wonders.

Everyone is amazed at the speed at which the Ginza Project is expanding. How do you do this?

First there was arithmetic progression, then geometric progression, and yes, of course, we constantly feel the problem of growth. We are trying to overcome it. It’s hard, of course, but we have a good, powerful team – both partners and employees, which makes the task easier.

Some time ago there were reports that you were going to open a chain of fitness clubs. Where did this idea come from?

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Well, we all go to different fitness clubs, but it’s hard to settle on one: everywhere it seems that something can be done better. In any club you are missing something; This is what you would do, but this is different. In the end, you come to the conclusion that it’s easier to open your own. Many restaurants open this way too. People come and say: we lack this and that, that’s not true. Then they open their own restaurants. Some people succeed, some don't. In most cases, of course, it doesn’t work out (laughs).

But based on these considerations, you can take on anything, even start a TV channel.

If it works out, why not. With fitness clubs, we believe that it should work.

How will they differ from all the others?

From the atmosphere to the organization. We think through every project down to the smallest detail. The power lies precisely in them: how the locker room is arranged, whether the intersection of streams is thought out, somewhere the shower stalls are uncomfortable, somewhere the hairdryer is not so well positioned.

Such attention to detail, in theory, should someday lead you to the hotel business, where this is the most important thing.

Our first boutique hotel will open at the end of the year or at the beginning of next. Since we spend half our lives in hotels due to our line of work, we always notice little things. Somewhere you see something interesting, but somewhere something is missing. So it’s best to make a hotel that, according to your own feelings, will have everything you need.

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Will the hotel be in St. Petersburg?

Yes, a pilot project in St. Petersburg, and then we’ll see.

Well, the last question: what were the most difficult periods during these ten years and which were the most intense?

Well, a crisis is always a difficult time...

But just during the crisis, you opened a huge number of restaurants in Moscow.

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Yes, we took a risk. Many projects were closed, but we opened them. What we had was 70 percent ready, we decided to finish and open. After all, even in a crisis, people want something new, fresh sensations. You can put off buying expensive real estate, a car, or luxury goods, but your level of income still does not drop enough to give up going to a new restaurant. So the risk turned out to be justified. But the most difficult period was the opening of the first projects, when there was no team yet, we were mastering the technology. Until quantity turned into quality, it was not easy. And even now it’s not easy - there’s simply not enough free time for everything else: something opens up all the time, it needs to be controlled.

And how will you deal with this?

Solve problems at the structural level. But in general, quality is important to us now. Until we achieve the required level - in service, in the atmosphere, in the cuisine and in everything else - we will move forward calmly. If we feel that we cannot provide the quality that we should, maybe we will slow down a little.

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Business secrets: Vadim Lapin

Vadim Lapin, co-owner of the Ginza Project holding. Born November 2, 1963. In 2003, he opened his first Ginza restaurant in St. Petersburg. Now the Ginza Project holding manages about a hundred establishments in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don and New York.

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Vadim Lapin

Vadim Valentinovich Lapin is one of the founders and co-owners of the international restaurant holding Ginza Project. His professional career began more than 13 years ago with the opening of the first Japanese restaurant Ginza in St. Petersburg. Before working in the restaurant business, he was engaged in trading European products and clothing. He received his education at the Leningrad Engineering and Economic Institute. In 2015, he took 198th place in the “Rating of Billionaires”. In 2016 – 247th place.

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Vadim Lapin: “To be successful, you need to be aware of what is happening”

Now Ginza Project is preparing to launch a new project under the working title “Olive”. These will be restaurants of Italian cuisine, which will soon open in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The company plans to invest about $2 million in them.

Photo by Yana Romanova and Ginza Project

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Vadim Lapin

He has opened such establishments as Ginza, “Mari Vanna”, Terrassa and Tiffany's cafe in St. Petersburg, Blackberry, Prada cafe and Sorry, babushka in Moscow, and Los Dados, opened by Lapin in New York, was included in the top ten best Mexican restaurants in America . This fall, he is not only introducing new projects - Tsar and the family Italian restaurant Francesco - in his hometown, but is also planning restaurant expansion to London.

I am an economist, graduated from Engineering. The time when I was studying was turbulent - it was difficult to understand what professions would be in demand. I considered economic education to be universal. Among my teachers, by the way, was Anatoly Chubais, he taught our subject “Research and Development,” and explained the algorithm for writing a scientific paper. Even then it was clear that Chubais looked at the economy more broadly than all the others who grew up under socialism. I believe that during perestroika he, Yegor Gaidar and another group of politicians put the country on the right track. Of course, something could have been done less painfully for the population, but you know how things happen with us. I am sure that Chubais will still be appreciated in the future, although now he is not popular among the people. I was very lucky to have studied with such a progressive teacher.

Like everyone else, by accident, on the advice of his friend Dima Sergeev, a businessman from Moscow. A huge number of sushi bars opened there, and he advised me to open the same establishment here. It was at that time that my other friends, owners of a fitness center, wanted to open a healthy food restaurant in the neighborhood. But for some reason we associate exclusively sushi with healthy food. This is how Ginza was born.

Certainly. I can make borscht, fish soup, mushroom soup, and according to all the rules. I lived in a very hospitable family; many guests came to us on holidays, and I always helped my mother buy food at the market, cook, and knew how to make any salad. We had our own signature recipes left over from my grandmother: Napoleon, sour cream. Grandma's pies are generally the most vivid memory of my childhood. They were absolutely amazing, they just melted in your mouth! Now pies according to this recipe are baked in the restaurant “Mari Vanna”.

Once upon a time we all said: we are not competitors, the more good restaurants, the better. But now the rivalry is already felt, everyone is trying to become the first. Nevertheless, I have excellent relationships with restaurateurs Edik Muradyan, Aram Mnatsakanov, Lenya Garbar, Vova Lvovsky, Zhenya Prigozhin. We have known each other for a long time, these are my lifelong friends.

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A couple of years ago there was a fire at the Ginza restaurant. That evening the group “VIA Gra” performed there. As the girls performed their final song, the curtain caught fire. It was spectacular - the guests decided that they were seeing the culmination of the program. The next morning, when news of the fire spread throughout the city, many came to look at the ashes, but only the terrace burned down, the restaurant worked as if nothing had happened. Friends then asked for a long time if they had dreamed it all.

To be honest, even in my spare time I am drawn to restaurants. I don’t like going into my establishments with friends: there you really feel like you’re at work, you notice shortcomings, you start to get nervous; your friends are also nervous that you are not paying enough attention to them. Therefore, if we want to communicate and chat, we go to “strange” places where they don’t know us. In addition, I love sports and travel. I recently started boxing for aerobic exercise – I really liked it, it turned out to be such an intellectual sport! The British were not fools. Even technically, getting into another person’s face is very difficult, almost like in fencing. In addition, the load is very intense: forty minutes in boxing is like two hours in fitness.

In Italy. Italians are very similar to Russians both in temperament and mentality. For example, the concept of “friend” is always higher than the concept of “duty”. They are less harmful than other Europeans, less nationalists than the French and Germans. In Italy I don’t feel like a foreigner; I can breathe easily and freely there.

When you realize that you have achieved everything you could, perhaps you should move in a different direction. But if you see an unplowed field in front of you, it’s too early to do so. The restaurant market in Russia is still in its infancy, so there is still a lot to do and redo. I have very big plans for the next five to ten years.