| Askar Baitassov | |
| Birth Name: | Askar Bulatovich Baitassov |
| Birth Date: | 25 September 1984 |
| Birth Place: | Village Mezhdurechenskoye, Almaty region, Kazakhstan |
| Occupation: | Founder and CEO of abr company |
Askar Bolatuly Baitassov (Qazaq: Асқар Болатұлы Байтасов; Russian: Аскар Булатович Байтасов; born September 25, 1984, Mezhdurechenskoye, Almaty region, is a Kazakhstani businessman, founder of abr company, and owner of 50 restaurants in Kazakhstan.
Baitassov was born on September 25, 1984, in Mezhdurechenskoye, Almaty region to parents Baitassova Aiman Mukhamedzhanovna and Baitassov Bulat Bakhtygereievich.[1]
In 2002, Askar graduated from Kazakh-Turkish Lyceum and in 2007, he graduated from the State University of Management Moscow, Russian-Dutch Department of Marketing. He spent 3 years studying in Moscow and 2 years at Saxion University of Applied Sciences in Enschede, Netherlands.
In 2007, he started managing the family restaurant business in Almaty.
In 2012, founded abr restaurant company. Askar Baitassov has upscaled the family business into a holding that has become the leader of the restaurant industry in Almaty.[2]
In 2013, Ernst & Young named Askar Baitassov Entrepreneur of the Year in Kazakhstan.[3]
In 2016, Askar Baitassov graduated from the General Management Program at Harvard Business School.
In 2020, was included in the expert body of Almaty Business Council.[4]
In 15 years of its existence in Kazakhstan, abr has grown to 50 restaurants united under 18 concepts (mono and chain): Del Papa, Афиша, Cafeteria, Огонёк,[5] AUYL, Aroma, Дареджани, Julius, Luckee Yu, Бродвей Бургер, COCO, RAW, SPIROS, Blanca, TÖR, ŞYÑ 32, JINAU, Alma. In the nearest future several more projects await – for example, Astra cafe.
In 2024 two of abr restaurants — TÖR and AUYL — were included in the 52 Places to Go rating by The New York Times.[6] Also, in 2024 Forbes USA has published a list of The 16 Most Beautiful Restaurants In The World, According To Prix Versailles[7] – a yearly architectural prize by UNESCO, in which AUYL restaurant was included.
In 2020 the company has switched to foodtech releasing abr+ app,[8] and has gathered own development team by 2021, creating a full scale bonus experience for the offline. In 2023, the abr tech team has created a unique B2B product — the BEAST system for restaurant management.[9]