[Source]

I posted few days ago on how the average price per 1 square meter in Beirut is over 3000$ and how Beirut’s average rent was $1,872 for a 150-square-meter apartment, higher than the Arab average of $1,526 per month. [Link]

I was also told yesterday that renting a 200m2 place (+ terrace) at the newly open Zaitunay Bay costs at least 1 million dollars a year. Let’s assume the price is exaggerated and say a restaurant named X pays 750,000$ a year for a 150m2 place that can fit 80 people.

750,000$ means 62,500$ a month and almost 2000$ a day.
- If a meal costs on average between 30 and 50$ at restaurant X, it will need between 40 and 70 customers EVERY day to break even.
- This will only cover the rental fees without taking into consideration wages, maintenance and operating fees etc…

Given that Zaitunay Bay won’t be working that well during the winter season, and that I’ve never seen a restaurant full in the three times I went already, I don’t know how restaurants will profit from opening there.

Update: I spoke to Ziad Kamel, Founder/CEO of the Alleyway Group, and Treasurer of Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants in Lebanon, and he told me restaurants at the Zaitunay bay pay approximately $400-500K per year.

The last time I had Dip’n Crunch was probably in 2002 or 2003 when I was still in AUB. Apparently the place is still open but in Verdun only.

Dip’n Crunch is a fast food restaurant whose specialty is crunchy and tasty french fries with their secret sauces and pepper.

I’m thinking of paying it a visit to see if it’s still any good, even though I didn’t like the sight of frozen bags of fries on the street. It seems the bags are left there in the early morning up until the place opens around 10 or 11.

Thanks Remy

I remember passing by this church while they were filming the movie “Halla2 lawen” and I had no clue what it was. It’s a beautiful old church situated in Jeita with blue walls from the inside. It is lit up during religious occasions, such as Christmas, Lent or Easter.

I will post another picture of it during daylight and from the inside as I plan to visit it again soon.

After the Lara Fabian boycott, it is time to boycott Natalie Portman’s Dior ad, even though there was another ad featuring Portman only few months back that went unnoticed. This case however seems different as Portman was actually born in Jerusalem.

My question is: How did the ad get past the local authorities if she’s an “Israeli” and should not be on our billboards? How did all the movies she starred in get to our theaters?

I am not fully aware of the boycott law when it comes to the Jewish State. I thought interaction with military or security individuals is forbidden only and considered to be collaboration.

For my part, I wouldn’t want to have any sort of contact whether it’s a civilian or soldier or whatsoever.

Beirut apartments are still among the most expensive in the MENA region, and Lebanon’s real estate trend is unlikely to remain sustainable, said a recently issued report. The report, dubbed “Global Property Guide,” ranked Beirut in 50th place in terms of the price of an average apartment. [Link]

Regionally, Beirut is second to Dubai. I wonder what is it that drives Arabs mainly and foreigners to buy houses and apartments in a country with no electricity, water shortage, no urban planning and tensions all across its borders. I’d understand prices in Beirut to be a bit expensive but the prices are just absurd, and it applies elsewhere too.

Average square meter in regions such as Jbeil, Tabarja or Keserwan as a whole costs around 1400$ last time I checked, and around 1800$ in Mount Lebanon areas.

Photo taken on February 20th. [Link]

Burger places and Steak houses are the latest trend in Lebanon, hence the latest version diner combining both. I am not sure if the idea will work; I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

LVD is located near ChopSticks and Shtrumph in Dbayyeh. Its logo reminds me of another restaurant’s logo but I can’t remember which.

[Source]

The above announcement was made in 1967. I wonder if we’ll ever be able to visit Jerusalem.

[Source]

via MyExpDesigned

[High-Res]

I spotted this old Volkswagen parked in the Jounieh souks while heading to work this morning. If my search is correct, this is a newer version of the old Volkswagen Kübelwagen. the Kübelwagen was for the Germans what the jeep was for the Allies and was heavily used in WWII.[Link]

This vintage VW model was called Volkswagen 181, or “the Thing” by the Americans, and was produced between 1969 and 1980. [Link]

It looks in great shape for a 30+ year old car.

I advise the concerned ministry and minister to double-check their own road signs before bashing marketing agencies for hazardous billboards.

Until it’s fixed, I think it’s better for everyone to avoid passing by that part of the bridge.

Thanks Gilo!

The first time I called WISE to check if they are going to upgrade their internet packages was in October. Back then, they made me wait until December only to inform me that Wise machines can’t be upgraded!

I stayed on my 512K connection until WISE called me back in January 2012 informing me about their DSL packages and offering me the 150$ installation and machine fees for free, or something like that. The deal was good so I prepared all the necessary papers and emailed them. I chose the 2MB – 20 GB plan for 50$.

I was eagerly waiting to have a decent connection at home once and for all until I was informed by WISE that my phone line cannot handle more than a 1MB connection, and that I should check with the local “Central” (Government Telecom center).

Why the hell doesn’t anyone inform us about such things? Just thinking of the hassle I have to go through to upgrade my phone line, if that’s even possible, is depressing.

I guess I have to stick to the 1MB for now.

PS: I would say thank God for 3G but the service has been so crappy lately that I don’t even know where to start.

Alaa Safwan, 23, had just delivered a pizza from Pizza Hut when he was intercepted by a silver Nissan Tida, a statement from Pizza Hut said. Three men got out of the car and stabbed Safwan. They proceeded to rob him of LL250,000 in cash and the remaining pizzas in his possession. [DailyStar]

If it was a KFC or Hawa Chicken “delovery”, policemen would have stopped the robbery and caught the thieves in no time.

Sietske has a post about a trout farm she ran into by chance in Hermel. Like her I also had no idea we could find fresh trout in Lebanon. [Link]

We finally have a time display at all time and they don’t cut off the games anymore because the news are on. At least, that’s what happened today.

The reason why the game was delayed is funny though. Champville, who were playing Riyadi in Manara-Beirut, refused to start their game unless all Riyadi fans are taken out from behind their bench, for security reasons. As far as I can recall, it was Champville that started the fight last time and not Riyadi. Moreover, If any team should be worried about its security when playing against Riyadi, it’s Sagesse and they never asked for such a thing.

Riyadi won by the way and are now back on top.