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Elsschot
29-08-05, 09:19
Aug. 28, 2005 23:41 | Updated Aug. 29, 2005 3:46

Sizzling fast-food chain is talk of east Jerusalem

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS

Hold the humous and pita, and pass the burgers and fries.

East Jerusalem's first hamburger chain opened this weekend, with the brand spanking new fast-food eatery the talk of the Arab part of town.

The burger restaurant, "Yummy Yummy," is the brainchild of a Jerusalem Arab entrepreneur, Osama (Sam) Salah, 44, who spent the last two decades working in the United States.

After returning to Jerusalem last year, Salah, who holds American citizenship, conceived the idea of opening a burger chain in east Jerusalem, having noticed the large numbers of Arab residents of the city who flocked to west Jerusalem on a daily basis to eat at McDonald's or Burger King.

Salah estimated that one out of every three patrons at the fast-food burger stores were Jerusalem Arabs, statistics that stand to reason in a city where one out of three residents is Arab. "It seems that Arab people too got fed up with only eating traditional foods," he said.

Springing into action, Salah, together with a partner, invested $500,000 in opening his new burger restaurant, which is located around the corner from the Jerusalem District Court and the National Insurance Institute as well as a string of east Jerusalem hotels.

The restaurant is open all week and is complete with a large children's play area – a virtual McDonald's look-alike, minus the Golden Arches and Ronald McDonald – something which Salah admits comes from his years of experience of frequenting fast-food chains in the US.

"The idea of how my hamburger chain would look came to me during the many meals I had at fast-food chains in the States, since I did not always have the time to make it home for dinner," he recounts.

At NIS 23 for a meal that includes a (cheese) burger, fries and a coke, the prices at the east Jerusalem non-kosher eatery are about NIS 10 less than a meal at McDonald's or Burger King across town.

The eatery offers not just a meal, but a place where parents can relax and kids can play, which is new for east Jerusalem restaurants.

"My kids are happier than me," the father of three said.

Salah, who plans on opening additional branches in Amman, Ramallah and Dubai, said that he hoped the east Jerusalem branch would become a place where Arabs and Jews could interact, especially on Friday nights and Saturdays when a majority of restaurants in west Jerusalem are closed for Shabbat. Salah voiced the hope that the store will prove to be a sign of growing coexistence between Arabs and Jews in the mixed city.

"It is my hope that my burgers will be the culinary bridge to peace," he said.



En uiteindelijk is The American Way of Life ook doorgedrongen in de Palestijnse gebieden.