Aram
Mnatsakanov

Born in Baku, then in the Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan, in a family of Armenians. While still in school, he moved with his family to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). Was accepted to the Nakhimov Naval Acaademy. Served in the army at the Military Academy of Logistics and Transportation. Later studied the theory of vehicle operation at the Leningrad Institute of Civil Engineering. In the early 1990s, founded St. Petersburg Open tennis tournament and organized Davis Cup matches at St. Petersburg. Following that, Aram took charge of a wine trading company. That’s how he got his start in the restaurant world of St. Petersburg, which led him to open his own project, Probka wine bar. A couple years later, he opened Il Grappolo restaurant with an Italian chef and notable guests in the same venue. Overall, since 2001, Aram has developed over a dozen restaurant concepts, some of which are still around. Today, Aram Mnatsakanov has six restaurants in St. Petersburg, four in Moscow, and one each in Yerevan and Berlin.