CAIRO: Ramadan is a tricky month for bars and restaurants. During daylight, the rows of shuttered windows, renovations and vacant lounges are enough to make even this lively city look calm. Then the sun sets, and the bustle is back. It s like a whole month of Christmases, said Amr El-Fiqqi, a Cairo-based promoter who works with event sponsors and planners. His business thrives during the holy month, when about 14 kheimas, or Ramadan tents, clamor for sponsors, he said. Many companies - particularly those new to the market - are eager to attach their brand to a certain class of clientele, which they often do by sponsoring high-end tents like those at Sangria and Sequoia, said El-Fiqqi. Those are the places where people go to see and be seen, he said. The next closest thing to this flurry is summer, when eight to 10 beaches fetch lucrative sponsorships for events like water-boarding competitions, said El-Fiqqi. But Ramadan itself can bring in as much as the entire summer, he added. The off-season is far slower, and there is a concern for some promoters that, as Ramadan inches toward summer each year, the two spikes could overlap. During the rest of the year, concerts and the occasional charity events account for most of his business, El-Fiqqi said. You re lucky if you get one or two each month, he said. The month isn t so kind to every balance sheet. The month of Ramadan, we lose a lot, said Mourad Sami, owner of the Deyafa venues, which include Tabasco, Abou El Sid, and Sangria. The best time to close is during Ramadan. While their restaurants serve several rushes throughout the regular year, during Ramadan they only have iftar. And while the iftar rush is huge, the concentration is not necessarily a blessing, Sami said. For instance, a restaurant might serve 200 people per day with seating for 90 during the regular year, but even if 200 call for iftar, business will still be more than halved. The rush can sometimes give the illusion of good business. People would think so, Sami said. They come and say, oh, we can t find a seat. But that s just for right now. The exception is Sangria, where the company owns a large garden and sets up a Ramadan tent. Because of the extra cash there, business is about as good as it is during the regular season and can sometimes make 10 or 15 percent more, Sami said. Often, Deyafa uses the downtime to do renovations. Two of the three Tabasco restaurants are closed this year, though in previous years Deyafa has used them for overflow from the neighboring Abou El Sid, whose heavy, more Middle Eastern-style dishes make it a popular iftar spot. New clientele, drawn to certain restaurants for the first time during Ramadan, can also be a boon, Sami said. The thing you do, you get new clients, Sami said. And you try to keep them. For a business like Sami s, where alcohol is a hefty chunk of revenue - between 20 and 30 percent, depending on location - there are other complications. A law in Giza restricts the sale of alcohol completely during the month, and because some Deyafa venues are located there, the company cuts sales at all their spots, Sami said. But there are some ways to make up for it. Shisha, popular year-round, sees a spike during the holy month, El-Fiqqi said. Even though alcohol may have a good profit margin, it is nothing compared to shisha, he said. The profits are so good on water pipes that locations like Giza s First Mall, which doesn t usually serve shisha, offer them during Ramadan, he said. One bowl of shisha costs a venue like Sequioa between LE 0.5 and LE 2, which is then sold for between LE 10 and LE 20, said El-Fiqqi. This can yield, in some cases, returns as high as 1,000 percent, while alcohol runs closer to 400 percent, El-Fiqqi said. You tell me which you d rather do business in.
