Restaurant shut because of Covid-19 saved by social media
A Dubai restaurant on the verge of closing down because of Covid-19 is back in business thanks to social media.
Family-run Habet Barakah, in Al Qusais opened last September but hit hard times when the pandemic struck.
Owner Nour Assaf, from Jordan, was heartbroken when places serving food were forced to take a break and her culinary dreams appeared dashed. But when news of her plight went viral online, the outpouring of goodwill inspired her to give the venture a second shot.
“We were doing well at first and then Covid hit and the orders stopped,” Ms Assaf, 38, said. She decided that when Ramadan ended she would shut up shop for good.
“I was so upset. We had invested everything we had in this restaurant and it was a dream of ours,” she said. “It was a family business that we put a lot of effort into. Every day I, my husband and the kids would be there.”
She said the family invested Dh500,000 in Habet Barakah, most of which came from loans. They had to let all 11 of their employees go when the pandemic hit.
The day before the business was to close, Ms Assaf posted her decision on Facebook.
“I sent the post and went to bed. When I woke up, I was shocked to see all the reposts,” she said.
A woman whose parents had been through a similar experience got in touch. Syrian Alaa Ammar Al Zian, 36, helped save her parents’ restaurant in the US from closure by posting about their plight on social media from her Abu Dhabi home.
“Nour’s post broke my heart and struck a chord with me because it reminded me of what my parents went through,” she said.
Ms Al Zian approached social media influencers and asked them to repost Ms Assaf’s announcement. One who responded was Shadi Shawqi, 38, from Jordan.
He filmed an appeal on three of his Instagram accounts, which have thousands of followers. Within minutes, his post had been shared more than 10,000 times. Habet Barakah reopened a week later.
“Now the restaurant is so busy that they are unable to take additional orders,” he said. “This is the power of social media.”