Buddha Bar Lebanon Shuts Down

Here’s yet another nail in Lebanon’s economic coffin. Buddha Bar, one of Lebanon’s trendiest go-to places, is shutting down permanently, according to the Daily Star. This will get approximately 200 employees laid off from their jobs.

The cause for Buddha Bar shutting down is non-other than the great situation the country is going through. If you haven’t been in the loop, which I doubt, here’s what it breaks down into, grosso modo.

  • A very poor touristic season over the summer.
  • Civil unrest that ignites at any moment.
  • A seemingly camping-site friendly Downtown Beirut, which is where Buddha Bar is located. It has been turned into such a place twice in the past four years alone. They also offer discounts if you want to join them in rainy weather.
  • Political leadership with absolutely no idea whatsoever on how to run things.

And things don’t seem that they’ll drastically improve anytime soon with rhetoric that keeps sinking, politicians who believe acting feisty over Twitter will bring forth change and supporters who are more than convinced that their corresponding side of the political spectrum has done absolutely nothing wrong over the past few years – or has done things that are entirely justifiable.

Meanwhile, 200 families have just lost means of support. And if Buddha Bar is closing down, what does that say about the countless other smaller businesses that are suffering in this country? How many other families will have their jobs taken away from them just because our country is always the playground of others?

We cannot really work on fixing our economy until we fix everything that’s ruining it and herein lies the problem: where do we start fixing?

 

6 thoughts on “Buddha Bar Lebanon Shuts Down

  1. Seems like we’re on the same wave length. Where do we we stat fixing? I think we (you, and I, and like-minded spirits, and I know there’s many like us) should run this country 🙂

    Like

    Reply
  2. Pingback: Fuddruckers Lebanon Closes Down? « A Separate State of Mind | A Lebanese Blog

  3. But isn’t it surprising that it stayed open this long? Most big theme night clubs don’t last long in Lebanon. I was once told by restaurant owners that the average life span is 1-1.5 years. People always want new things. Plus there is so much new competition from Hamra, Mar Mikhael, the massive open air and rooftop clubs and the surge in night clubs in general. The market has undergone massive changes since Budda first opened, both geographically and in terms of new entrants, live show offerings etc. Did they keep up with the times?

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment