MUSTAFA SAMAD, AGAINST ALL ODDS

Five years ago, Mustafa Samad decided to expand beyond the travel agency (Samad Tours) and open La Plaka restaurant in his native Tripoli. “It did well,” he told Hospitality News. "So well that we invested in a new one.” He went on to purchase a plot of land next door to La Plaka and opened his family’s latest restaurant, Hajj Ali, in early June 2015. Expansion and continued investment in Tripoli may come as a surprise to many, as La Plaka’s success seemed to happen against all odds. A year after the restaurant opened – which celebrated its fifth anniversary on June 20 – the civil war in Syria broke out, with devastating effects on Lebanon’s northern city. Despite it all, La Plaka has persevered and Samad is hopeful for the future.

“The last four years were incredible but this year, thank God, it’s becoming better; safer. We have plenty of people who want to find the opportunity to work,” he said. His new restaurant, Hajj Ali, is an ode to Samad’s parents. The first month of operations has been successful, but Samad cautiously attributes this to the new restaurant buzz. He believes it will take time for Tripoli to recover. “The history of the last four years affected Tripoli a great deal,” says Samad. “Now it’s very safe; there are no problems at all. But, it takes time to build up tourists like before. If you see an itinerary in Beirut for tours, you will not find Tripoli on it.” His advice to investors looking into Tripoli’s hospitality industry is to think small, “It’s not the time for big investment. Restaurants are OK… but hotels, parks…it’s not the best time in Lebanon, not just in Tripoli.”