F&B sector operating in constantly shifting and worsening conditions

ENAR

It is a sad time for the hospitality sector in Lebanon, as we hear of the closures this May of Food and Beverage (F&B) outlets such as Hamra’s Dar Bistro café and bookshop, Minet el-Hosn’s upscale fine-dining venue Balthus, which had been in operation for 20 years, and Tawlet Hamra, which had operated for just shy of a year before its owners took the decision to close (see interview with Tawlet’s Kamal Mouzwak). Others in the industry fear that this is just the beginning of a series of closures that the F&B sector will witness in the coming months. The disruption of sectors that rely on direct contact with their customers, such as the F&B industry, is among the global impacts of COVID-19. For example, a survey of 5,000 restaurant operators conducted by the National Restaurant Association in the United States estimated that the F&B industry lost approximately $25 billion