The Backyard Hazmieh opens in May

The Backyard Hazmieh, a mixed- use cluster, will open next month, according to Wassim Heneine, Managing Director of Emerging Investment Partners (EIP), the company that owns 51 percent of the cluster.

The cluster was fully rented out before its opening, he said. The tenant mix includes Starbucks, Lina’s, Bar Tartine, Roadster, Zaatar W Zeit, Sushi Tsunami, Classic Burger, Oleo, Divvy, Abdul Wahab, Dip n Dip, Brasserie Francaise, Kitchen Yard, U Energy, Little Me kids’ area, and a spa, according to Karim Burhani, Managing Director of EIP.

“The cluster is well located and covers Hazmieh, Baabda, Loueizeh, and Aley,” he said.

Burhani said: “People are going out more to places that are reliable and cost- efficient. Houses are getting smaller, so people are inviting friends to their ‘backyard’.”

EIP is conducting studies to develop this concept in the local market and in the MENA region, according to Heneine. EIP is receiving requests by other investors and land owners to study whether this concept is replicable elsewhere. “We are examining this potential in two countries in the MENA, two countries in Africa, and several sites in the North, South, and other parts of Greater Beirut,” he said.

The remaining shares in The Backyard Hazmieh are owned by Venture Group, co-founded by Rabih Saba and Marwan Ayoub. The cluster is the first investment by EIP since its establishment.