Upcycling

Whether it’s a plowing truck re-used as a makeshift bar stool, or a door frame re-used as a table, most of the furniture and objects used in Junkyard, Mario Haddad Junior’s hip bar-restaurant in Mar Mikhael, are creative reconceptualizations of junk items developed by local designer Rami el Khazen. The remaining items, such as the cutlery, napkins, placemats and some furniture were brought from restaurants that have shut down. The idea of upcycling first came to Haddad during the summer of 2012 when he launched a pop up concept in the same spot which now houses Junkyard. Not wanting to invest too much financially into a concept that was only meant to be operational for a few months, Haddad chose instead to reuse and upcycle, furnishing the open air outlet with tables and chairs from his old restaurants which had closed down and re-using common household and junk