Many stores like Al Rawchee that have been on Al Merqab St. received letters and visits from the owners of the land in which the shops are running, to leave before the month of May to build either a mall or another commercial building instead. Many of those left their countries to come work in these shops and now are waiting for the sponsors of the shop to find a new place to reopen their stores. Some have found a place to move while others are just waiting to the last minute to get kicked out. And because of the high rent costs, some are not thinking of reopening anywhere in Qatar while others chose to reopen outside of Doha because of cheap rent costs.
Now, these stores have become hills of rubble.
Al Merqab St. is one of Qatar’s popular destination in Doha, Qatar which has been going through many changes the last two years. It has over 200 restaurants with the famous Family Food Center, American, Asian and Arabic cuisines, and even a decades old bookstore.
Click below to hear the story of Al Rawchee which the owner, Sameer Awani, explains:
This story is five months old.
Ola Diab 