Leprechauns, hoteliers, and developers: who owns Ryazan's most expensive restaurants
These Ryazan establishments are places you likely wouldn«t visit every day.
In Ryazan, people love to eat well—and they are willing to pay for a good dinner. But behind the white tablecloths, signature menus, and «above average» price tags lies a much more interesting question: who really stands behind the city«s most expensive restaurants? We decided to look not only at the plates but also at the founding documents to find out who owns the establishments where Ryazan residents leave their money, and who earns the most from gastronomy.
A visit to SeaZone might be financially out of reach for many local residents.
We selected restaurants based on a simple principle: they had to have a rating of at least 4.9 on Yandex.Maps and an average bill of over 1,500 rubles (approximately $17 at current rates). Frankly, there weren«t very many such establishments in the city, exactly four. But that»s a number that suits us just fine.
Host is expensive and upscale, yet its staff reportedly struggles with English.
SeaZone
The «Bristol» interior aims for a sense of British colonial style and luxury.
The SeaZone restaurant in the «Aragon» hotel complex at 25 Kudryavtseva Street positions itself as «a place where the city bustle stays at the doorstep.» Unfortunately, understanding how and how much the restaurant itself earns is impossible, as it is legally inseparable from the hotel complex. This is LLC «Aragon-Group,» owned by Ryazan businessman Dmitry Gudz. Besides «Aragon-Group,» which in 2024, according to reports, brought the entrepreneur a modest 69,000 rubles (approximately $767) in net profit on revenue of 58 million rubles (approximately $644,000), he has several other projects. For example, as an individual entrepreneur, he owns the «Paustovsky» park hotel in Solotcha. Gudz«s largest enterprise is the glass manufacturing company »A-Glass PRO.« LLC »A-Glass PRO« is equally owned by Gudz and businesswoman Yulia Yuzhakova and in 2024, according to reports, brought the owners 6 million rubles (approximately $66,700) in net profit on revenue of 480.6 million rubles (approximately $5.34 million).
A live cover band is considered an essential feature for an authentic Irish pub.
An interesting detail emerges in the management of the SeaZone restaurant and the hotel complex. The director of LLC «Aragon-Group» is a certain Maria Yasinskaya. Yes, the surname, reminiscent of the new head of the Ryazan city administration Boris Yasinsky, is no coincidence. Maria is the wife of Mayor Yasinsky«s own brother, businessman Stanislav Yasinsky. She also works for Gudz as the manager of the »Paustovsky« park hotel. Mr. Gudz presented the »Golden Oasis« hotel complex (another name for the park hotel) to deputies of the Ryazan Regional Duma in July 2024. Judging by the establishment»s website, it is already accepting guests. Interestingly, in the same July 2024, Boris Yasinsky left his post as head of the Kasimov administration and became the head of the Ryazan District. However, Solotcha is not administratively part of the Ryazan District, so we won«t draw any far-reaching conclusions now and will consider this an interesting coincidence.
Host
The Host restaurant on Okskoye Highway is also on our list of Ryazan«s public catering establishments with the highest average bill and user ratings. LLC »Aspasia,« as the establishment is legally called, is owned by Ryazan resident Alexander Kazakov. The restaurant has been operating since 2007 and in 2024 (no later reports are available yet) brought Mr. Kazakov 1.2 million rubles (approximately $13,300) in net profit on revenue of 58.5 million rubles (approximately $650,000).
Host is somehow poorly represented on social media, but the establishment has many reviews on, for example, Yandex.Maps. Although the restaurant«s rating is above 4.9, there are also plenty of negative reviews. Here, for example, one visitor complained that the staff has poor English. »For an establishment of this level, this is a huge oversight. I was with a business partner, and he had to sit with Google Translate. Unacceptable! Once they translate the menu, I will bring my partners and English-speaking friends again. Until then, I will have to refrain from visiting Host,« writes Sergei Fahrensbach.
Alexander Kazakov, who also manages his restaurant himself, has no other business.
«Bristol»
The «Bristol» in the «Old Town» is unfortunately also legally inseparable from the hotel on Munsterskaya Street near Lybedskoy Boulevard, so it is not possible to see the financial statements of the restaurant specifically. LLC «Europa»—as we see the establishment in the legal entity registry—was founded in 2013; it is a large hotel complex owned by two of Ryazan«s most influential developers. One of them is Mikhail Mikhailov, founder and director of »Severnaya Kompaniya« (Northern Company), who owns 50% of LLC »Europa.« The other half is registered to LLC Specialized Developer »Uslugi SK,« which is owned by the well-known city entrepreneur Vadim Gavrishin, owner of the Ryazan LLC »Energosetevaya Kompaniya« (Energy Network Company) and the construction company »Gorizont« (Horizon).
The «Bristol» restaurant together with the «Old Town» hotel is a fairly profitable asset in itself. In 2024, the company«s revenue increased by 25.54% and reached 485.44 million rubles (approximately $5.39 million). The growth in net profit was even more noticeable—immediately by 395.13%, to 64.57 million rubles (approximately $717,000). At the same time, the business»s financial model looks relatively stable: the share of borrowed funds in the capital structure at the end of the year was 23%.
«Two Booths in Ireland»
Well, next up is the Irish atmosphere and the pub «Two Booths in Ireland.» A pleasant themed establishment that reminds one of all the «Irish pubs» in Russia at once: plenty of alcohol, live music with local cover bands, and the obligatory St. Patrick«s Day. It»s a typical pub as imagined in the cold expanses of Russia. Yes, this is also a place that Ryazan residents give high ratings to and where they leave relatively a lot of money.
Legally, «Two Booths» is LLC «Klever» (Clover—somehow we are not surprised by the naming), founded in 2019 with equal shares by entrepreneurs Alexander Chernikov and Alexei Kasianenko. Mr. Chernikov also manages the organization. Chernikov and Kasianenko also had the cafe «Diner» at Svoboda 52/2; now the establishment is closed, but the legal entity LLC «Diner» is still active.
According to the 2024 financial statements, the pub «Two Booths» saw its indicators go into the red. Revenue decreased by 12% and amounted to 54.5 million rubles (approximately $606,000), and net profit fell immediately by 64%—to 682,000 rubles (approximately $7,600).
Despite such financial results, the place is liked by Ryazan residents: «A place with the unique atmosphere of real Ireland: cozy interior, friendly staff, and good music that creates an amazing mood,» writes a city resident. Somewhere nearby, a nimble leprechaun smiled.
