Industry

The Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafés, Night-clubs and Pastries in Lebanon recently collaborated with Hospitality Services, Apave and NUSANED to support hospitality businesses affected by the Beirut blast.

Beirut’s restaurant industry was a casualty of the Beirut explosion, which occurred on August 4, 2020. As a result, the Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafés, Night-clubs and Pastries in Lebanon decided to help businesses impacted by the explosion get back on their feet by collaborating with its long-time partner Hospitality Services, as well as Apave and Nusaned.

A qualitative and quantitative report was prepared by Hospitality Services and Apave to estimate the damage incurred by Lebanon’s restaurant industry.

“It was a great pleasure to work hand in hand with the syndicate and support the industry during this critical time,” said Joumana Salame, managing director of Hospitality Services.

“The objective was to create a file and share it with the international community and potential donors within the network of the syndicate and Hospitality Services. An application form was created to allow all facilities affected by the explosion to submit an estimation of the losses,” added Nassib Nasr, managing director of Apave.

Tony Ramy, president of the Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafés, Night-clubs and Pastries in Lebanon, stated that: “We are collaborating with the Order of Lawyers (Beirut Bar Association) and filing a complaint against the Lebanese government to hold the parties or individuals involved accountable. Three regions most heavily affected by the port blast were: Greater Beirut, Metn and Baabda.

“Because the overall estimate of direct losses in the aforementioned areas is around USD 315 million, the Syndicate decided to liaise with Nusaned to secure funds for the reconstruction of establishments that have been damaged or destroyed, as local donations are unable to cover the estimated costs.”

“Nusaned is a humanitarian, community-based and volunteer organization. We believe that the power to create change comes from working collaboratively. That is why we dedicated a sufficient budget to support the reconstruction of the damaged establishments, and so far, we have rehabilitated 21 restaurants in Mar Mikhael and Gemmayze,” said Ghaida Nawam, co-founder and president of Nusaned.

The syndicate is launching an additional initiative in collaboration with Nexty - Pernod Ricard to support the individuals who used to work in many establishments across Mar Mikhael and Gemmayze. This initiative will be finalized soon.

Furthermore, the syndicate has just launched Beirut City of Life: A series of events aimed at reviving Mar Mikhael and Gemmayze. The month-long program includes workshops, talks, live music and cooking. The opening was held on December 12 at the bus station in Mar Mikhael.