During a time where many of our beloved restaurants or shops are closing down, these Lebanese-owned restaurants are successfully setting up shop in Cairo, Egypt.
SP Holding, owned by Lebanese restaurateur Pierre Ziadeh and his partner Souhail Nassar, along with their partner Henry Farah of Kamp Catering, have sold the franchises for L’avenue du Parc, Séray, Lilly’s Cafe, and Kampai to Egypt.
Offering a variety of flavors from Lebanese to French to Asian cuisine, the restaurants are slated to open in November in the new pedestrian high-street Walk of Cairo (WOC Cairo), located in the heart of Sheikh Zayed city.
“The choice to open in Walk of Cairo was the right one for us. We always open in high streets; I can never imagine coming out of Lily’s or Seray or L’Avenue and finding myself in a five-story mall,” said Ziadeh to Egyptian magazine Cairo Scene.
In a video teasing the restaurants’ opening, a voice can be heard saying, “All of Lebanon is coming to Egypt, and what are you still doing in Lebanon?”
Additionally, the authentic Lebanese restaurant Séray is also set to open by January 2021 in Riyadh and later will open along with Kampai in Dubai, New York, Manama, and Kuwait.
This is good news for these Lebanese businesses to prevail given that many have been shutting down in Beirut, such as Beirut Cat Cafe, Empire Metropolis Sofil, The Gathering, Dar Bistro, and more.
Lebanon has also had to say goodbye to Coca-Cola earlier this year, Forever 21, and Adidas. There are also rumors flying around that Pinkberry, H&M, and other large brands will be leaving Lebanon as well.
Currently, there’s a trend among Lebanese entrepreneurs to seek better opportunities in Cyprus for their businesses.
With the stalling crisis, Lebanon’s businesses must do what they can to survive, even if it requires them to operate abroad and thrive whether to help sustain their local operations or until they can reopen in Lebanon.
