Gżira Lebanese Street Food Outlet Baba Closes Its Doors
Baba, a Lebanese street food venture that has been open since 2020, has run aground due to the high costs of delivery.
In an interview with Who’s Who, chef-patron Hani Harb maintained that “Baba was a good concept in the wrong place – the dependence on third parties eats you up from the inside.”
While Harb pointed towards high delivery costs as the main culprit for the eatery’s closure, other factors such as location and lack of seating are also to blame.
Besides being an accomplished chef who has travelled extensively, working with Michelin-star chefs and learning different cuisines, Harb is also an entrepreneur. He took over his parents’ business, Ali Baba, which was the first restaurant to serve authentic Lebanese dishes to diners in Malta in 1987. From a deli, Harb and his wife Claudianne transformed Ali Baba into a high-end Lebanese restaurant.
Baba’s closure hasn’t impacted Ali Baba, which remains open.
In 2020, they opened Baba just up the same road as a street food outlet and delivery hub serving fast, yet authentic, Lebanese dishes.
Harb is adamant not to give up on the concept, which was well received and popular, but noted that the lack of passing trade and the lack of seating worked against them.
“We might open somewhere else; this time, with seating.”
Harb is also working on another venture, to open an outlet in a popular St Julians venue later this year. This will be offering a menu that consists of a fusion of BABA and Ali Baba’s delicacies.
Photo Credit: Food Blog
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