The local social media airwaves are buzzing about the speed and alacrity with which the city's municipality has shut down restaurants, cafes and other outlets serving prepared food and has listed the names of many of the offenders. Among them are a surprising number of some very popular eateries in Jeddah that residents frequent, including some which are franchise outlets from the US or other developed countries. The reasons for the closure included unsafe food preparation, poor hygiene practices by the serving staff, expired goods being prepared and fed to patrons, half-eaten portions being served again to unsuspecting customers, and a host of other complaints. Also shut down were well-known and frequented sea food restaurants along the coast because of the sale of rotting fish. According to one message circulating in social media, the municipality has asked residents to stand together with the institution and fight this menace. The message claims that the restaurant owners met at the Chamber of Commerce and are preparing a petition to the Board of Grievances against the closure orders, instead of correcting the blatant flaws within their establishments. In the absence of other diversions, going out to eat is very popular particularly among the young. In our cloistered society, restaurants and cafes have been a necessary outlet for many who want to see and be seen. Thus it has come as a shock to many to hear about the closure of some of their favorite places for food and entertainment. Others wonder why the city has acted now and what prompted them to do so. Yasin, a long term resident of Jeddah, states that the municipality inspectors "regularly visit these restaurants. Why couldn't they find any problems on their routine visits? Now all of a sudden they close down nearly half the restaurants in town in one go. Something is fishy here, and it's not the 'rotten fish' that our heroic municipality 'discovered' in these restaurants." Mona, a schoolteacher and a mother, seems to be delighted that the city finally woke up to the dangers in our restaurant industry. "After I saw a rat walking behind the buffet counter at a five-star hotel banquet room by the sea, all my desire to eat out evaporated. If five-star hotels cannot manage the hygiene in their kitchens, what can we expect the lower grade of restaurants to do? Even an open invitation to the fanciest restaurant in Jeddah is not going to convince me to start eating out again.' Saeed who works in a bank and is a bachelor says: "I eat out a lot with my friends. Sometimes it seems that's all we do after work hours. But this closure has got me thinking. I have to say that during my dining experiences I had noticed some shortcomings that alarmed me. In one instance while eating out with friends, a small cockroach popped out from under a pizza pan that had just been delivered to our table. When we complained to the manager who was an Arab national, he tried to explain it away by insisting that a customer had brought the cockroach in! We all left immediately, all desire for a hot pizza flying out of our thoughts." Joseph who has worked as a server in a few restaurants told me in confidence that "quite often it is the restaurant manager who sets the tone of service for the staff. The manager is eager to show to the owners a profit and will not hesitate to reuse expired or partially used food and serve it to customers. Even chains with headquarters in the United States are not immune to such practices, but no member of staff is willing to speak up for fear of losing his job." Well, whether we like it or not, there seems to be something rotten in some of the business practices followed by many of the restaurant establishments in the city as evidenced by the closure list purportedly released by the municipality. It has certainly shaken the trust of many in their favorite places to eat. And trust is very difficult to regain. As patrons, we have to be on guard because at the end of the day it is our health that matters most.
— The author can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena
