Focus on Jad Ballout - A Solidarity Story
This week we go to Lebanon (virtually) to interview Jad Ballout of Electric Bing Sutt and now of Dead End Paradise in Beirut. He tells us of the excitement of opening a bar with a new concept, gaining fast popularity, then losing everything in the blast of August 2020. Read on, there’s a happy ending.
My interview with Jad
32 year old Jad Ballout was born in Lebanon and though has travelled extensively, has never lived outside his home country. Jad, take me through the creation of your first bar Electric Bing Sutt in Beirut and how you decided on the concept.
While travelling in Asia, I discovered so many new great ingredients and new flavours. Things I had never seen and tasted before, and I wanted to share my travelling experiences and express what I discovered in a new concept for Beirut. That’s how the idea started, Bing Sutt originally is a traditional cold drink tea house that you find in the neighbourhood areas in Hong Kong. They serve cold drinks, mostly beers and local food. They are open day and night and that was the main inspiration of our concept at Electric Bing Sutt. We decided to do a modern style Bing Sutt with Asian Middle Eastern cocktails and food and serve artisanal tea and craft coffee.
Your bar became hugely popular and you even landed on the top 50 bars list, what do you attribute that to?
The bar started to be busy 2 weeks after opening. From that moment on, we were almost fully booked every day, which made us very happy. The concept was very unique for the city of Beirut and the people loved it. Making the World’s 50 Best Bars was the absolute cherry on top, it really made us feel like we were doing things right.
How long was Electric Bing Sutt bar open?
We opened our doors on October 8, 2018, until the day of the Beirut explosion which destroyed our bar on August 4, 2020.
When there was the explosion in Beirut, your bar was completely destroyed. You turned to crowdfunding to get back on your feet, who organized this?
Nico De Soto, the owner of Danico Paris and Mace New York and Dinos Costantinides, the owner of Lost+Found drinkery in Nicosia acted very fast after the explosion and almost immediately created a GoFundMe page. We were very surprised because at this point we were just focussing on saving our stuff from the debris, we hadn’t had the time to think about our next steps yet. The support we received from the global bar industry really gave us the motivation to look forward and not focus on the terrible thing that had just happened.
How did you find the location for Dead End Paradise?
I always liked the location, even before the opening of Electric Bing Sutt I already had an eye on it, but it was already taken. After the explosion, we were lucky the space was empty and ready for a new owner.
How long did it take you to rebuild?
It took quite some time. The whole country was in a very strict lockdown where for a long time we weren’t even allowed to leave the house at all. After that, the construction work could only be done in very limited hours, which caused a lot of delays.
When did you open Dead End Paradise?
We did a soft opening on Friday April 9th, 2021. For a while, we had been prepping with the staff and on that day, we decided we were ready to open the doors without announcing it on social media or anything. Slowly people started coming in and before we knew it every seat in the house was filled. Soon the word spread around town and all the friends we made at Electric found their way back to us.
What is the concept of this bar?
Dead End Paradise is a hedonist Asian Middle Eastern tiki dive bar, that may not exist tomorrow, constructed 500m away directly from the Beirut explosion site. Located in an actual dead end, Dead End Paradise speaks a sense of despair and anarchism in the current "dead end-like" turmoil of political, social and economical situation. It is our positive "no one can beat us down" self expression after the tragedy happened in August, which left most districts of the city, still, in ruins. Dead End Paradise is a paradox of its own, yes we are at a dead end, but we seek the paradise out of the reality, we seek the miracle of the everyday life, even it is the last day. Taking inspiration from the west coast independent, free thinking skateboarder lifestyle, Dead End Paradise aims to generate new energy into the (almost dead) local bar scene with creative Asian Middle Eastern tiki cocktails, playful Asian street comfort food and all around hedonist party vibe. If it were the last day on Earth, you wish you were here.
How are things going and how is this place different from Electric Bing Sutt?
We have been busy since the first day we opened, so the bar is doing very well. The concept is unique for the city of Beirut and a lot of our regulars were waiting for us to be back.
Dead End Paradise is designed like a playground. There is a swing, dance pole, amphitheatre seating and it’s very colourful. It’s like a bees nest where people are just moving everywhere, which is very nice and lively. On the menu, you find Tiki tropical cocktails with Asian and Middle Eastern ingredients.
At Electric Bing Sutt we had a lot less space. There was an area with tables where guests would sit and there wasn’t much space for everyone to move around because the bar was a lot smaller.
The biggest difference is that now we are literally on a dead end, whereas Electric Bing Sutt was located on a road with a lot of traffic. As soon as Dead End Paradise starts to fill up, people just stand on the street in front of the bar and slowly the bar gets bigger and bigger. At the end of the night the whole street is taken over and it’s like a big block party.
What are your feelings on the Beirut bar scene now?
The bar scene in Beirut has evolved a lot in the past years, at the moment you can find many good concepts with creative bar programs. People here are always trying to make the best out of every situation and even the shitty state that the country is currently in won’t change that.
Would you recommend people come back now? What does Beirut have that is unique?
Definitely it is worth coming back to Beirut, Beirut always has a unique charm and vibe, Lebanese people are very hospitable, and the city has great restaurants, bars and cafés. In Lebanon, everything is very close to each other. The beach is only 40 minutes away and within the same time you could also stand on top of a mountain, I don’t think there are a lot of other cities that offer these possibilities. In the summertime, there are plenty of things you can do, no matter what you prefer.
How does the future look for you and your bar?
I am looking to expand outside Lebanon and open more bars around the world, Dead End Paradise is doing great, and it is just a start for a successful journey.
And for the Beirut bar scene?
The Beirut bar scene will keep evolving and improving.
Five questions for Jad
White or brown spirit?
White.
If you were a bar tool what would you be?
Jigger.
If you had an unlimited budget to open a bar in Beirut what kind of bar would it be?
Bar with a pool in Gemayzeh.
Your favorite bar book?
Liquid intelligence by Dave Arnold.
Your bar idol?
Ago Perrone.
Signature Cocktail:
Pho Satay Mai Tai
Ingredients:
Basil gin
Peanut distillate
Peanut orgeat
Caramel
Lemon
Pho spices
Procedure:
Shake.
For details, ask Jad in person in Beirut; it will take a while to explain.
Where you can find Jad
Instagram:
Dead End Paradise: @dead.end.paradise
Electric Bing Sutt: @electricbingsutt
Jad: @jad_ballout