23 May 2009

JOUNIEH: Jounieh is starting to roll off the tip of everyone's tongue, as word gets out that its downtown is headed for a revival as the latest postwar hub of Lebanese nightlife. "People are fed up with going to Beirut and facing the traffic, the queues, the parking problems," said Elie Barhoush, owner of the bar said to have started it all, "Tonic."

Just over a year ago, Barhoush and his friend Michel Najem, then just 26 years old, decided to open a venue in their hometown that would be a caf? by day and bar by night, in the heart of old downtown Jounieh. "People said we were crazy ... like, 'Jounieh? What are you thinking? That's a dead area!' We did it anyway and opened on June 26 last year," Barhoush said, grinning proudly.

The decision to open was a brave one that would introduce a new concept to downtown Jounieh. With a slick, trendy ambiance that exudes leisure and calm, Tonic has become an oasis where young professionals now come to chill out and chat over a variety of fresh juices and creative cocktails.

Located on the narrow bank that divides Jounieh al-Mina street, the illuminated glass indoor-outdoor lounge attracts plenty of attention from passersby, with the structure itself serving as a means of publicity given the location's high visibility. As an ideal spot for people to see and be seen, the airy bar spills out onto an ample terrace of contemporary leather sofas and chairs surrounded by tall green fronds with music that varies from jazz to house according to the time of day. "We used to have to pay cash to our suppliers to get them to sell to us, and now we have suppliers coming to us and asking us to sell their products," Barhoush said.

Inspired by the unexpected success of Tonic, other entrepreneurs who began noticing the changes in the area started to come and talk to Barhoush to ask for his advice about opening up a bar of their own on the same street.

Owners of the established Beirut bars Cactus and Spoon are expected to open two new venues at the beginning of July, and last month heralded the opening of Lush, a bar that plays deep and funky house with a darker ambiance. It blends a trendy decoration reminiscent of Gauche Caviar with the charm of an interior that conserves original characteristics of old Jounieh's architecture.

There is also talk that Skybar may invest in another nightclub at the end of the street, which would complement an already- confirmed deal signed by the owners of White to open a new rooftop club in Kaslik.

The attractiveness of the area for entrepreneurs is fairly obvious. "You pay one-third of what you pay in rent for a place here as opposed to Beirut, and there are no problems for traffic or noise regulations ... plus this a greener area with wide sidewalks and more open space," Bahroush said, referring to the fact that Old Jounieh is an un-congested, non-residential area with plenty of parking lots for valet and private use.

Some "60 to 70 percent of the people who come here are people in the area who previously went out to Gemmayzeh," added Jad Henoud, the manager of Lush.

"Jounieh used to be one of the best places for tourism in Lebanon and now there are many projects to revive the area; people have already started to get the idea, and this will become a new option to Beirut," he asserted.

In mingling with patrons of the establishments, many told The Daily Star that what drew them in was a combination of boredom and frustration with Beirut and an appreciation for the fusion of old-port ambiance with trendy new nightlife.

"Lebanese hate routine and need a change ... and this is it," commented Beirut-based engineer Chebel Rahme. "During the summer this is going to be the new place to be."

Copyright The Daily Star 2009.