Green diner chain launched

New fast-food concept by Christine Sfeir

Green Falafel, a new diner concept by Christine Assouad Sfeir, has recently opened its first outlet in Jal El Dib. Sfeir is the CEO of Treats and Meeting Point, the company behind Semsom restaurant and the local franchisee for Dunkin’ Donuts.

“The Green Falafel concept aims at offering the only ‘eco-friendly’ falafel in town,” said Sfeir. The venue will be recycling its food and packaging waste on a daily basis, with the support of Zero Waste Act. Special food packages are brought in from the UK to deliver the greenest packaging. Sfeir said she has adopted the greenest techniques in the outlet in order to deliver tasty, yet eco-friendly food.

“Opening a green outlet has cost 40 percent more than a regular one, but we are expecting good return on investment on the long term,” she said. Around $290,000 was invested in the 80-square-meter outlet. In addition, Green Falafel will be donating five percent of each Monday’s sales to Jouzour Loubnan, an NGO whose main focus is reforestation initiatives.

Sfeir said that a second branch will be opening in Ain El Mreisseh in the coming six months. “We are facing the challenge of doing good while remaining profitable, but several branches will be following.”

After the concept takes off, branches in Arab countries will be opening gradually. “We intend to franchise our concept to each and every country we are present in,” Sfeir said.

Sfeir’s first diner concept, Semsom, already operates in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Iraq.