Joe Mourani at Café Standard. Photo credit : Anthony GHANIMEH
The extremes of Mourani’s personality range between a chef fond of simple food cooked in olive oil without extra additives that kill the taste and the heavy, traditional flavors of French cuisine. He is at once a forty-something year old lover of urban nightlife and a man still carrying around the remnants of his teenage years: dreams of the great outdoors and a certain loneliness. Mourani is a civil engineer who studied at the prestigious Institut Paul Bocuse culinary school and who has divided his life between two aspects of the food and leisure industry, both financial and gastronomic.
“I had always been a very restless child,” Mourani says shortly after stepping off of his motorcycle outside of Café Standard, his latest venture. He’s sporting a messy beard instead of the cleaner look that gained him a reputation as a heartthrob at Beirut gala evenings. This morning, Mourani is a bit shy, or perhaps still half-asleep. But his sharp eyes keep scrutinizing the notes written down throughout the conversation. In Café Standard, a coffee shop located in Gemmayze, there are barely any traces of Myu, Mourani’s first project in Lebanon. But Myu’s reputation for success is still here in more ways than one. “Myu is what my friends usually call me,” Mourani says.
“We grew up…”
Mourani’s childhood was restless, as he said, and he moved between Jeddah, Riyadh, Paris and Beirut before enrolling in McGill University in Canada to pursue a degree in engineering. But it didn’t take long for him to figure out that he did not like working as an engineer. Meanwhile, during his time in Montreal he familiarized himself with nightlife while managing two nightclubs before moving to Lyon, France to study at Institut Paul Bocuse. “I have been interested in cooking since my early years. I love that it is about family and providing pleasure to others. It is a whole experience that is conveyed through a smiling face, gestures and of course food,” Mourani says.
Mourani refined his experience in the restaurant business working at prestigious venues such as Lapérouse in Paris under chef Alain Hacquard, who became a close friend, Maison Blanche, run by the Pourcel brothers, and finally, Le Crillon Hotel, where Mourani was in charge of the financials. But just as he was starting at the hotel, the young man decided to leave and return home to Beirut where he opened Myu bar and restaurant. Twelve years later, after adding Myu on the Roof and the short-lived Baboon to his portfolio, Mourani has transformed the property into something new: three months ago he opened Café Standard, an all-day bar. “I really like this property, but the neighborhood has changed and is now going in another direction. The market too. In addition, we grew up,” Mourani says, explaining the transition.
By saying “we” Mourani is referring to his sister Nayla, a vital partner in his businesses, and the rest of his team, who he is delegating more responsibilities to as his list of ventures grows. In the US, Mourani opened Workshop Kitchen and Bar in 2001 and added Truss and Twine in 2017, which has already received several awards.
Experiment and live
“Today, we expanded a lot,” Mourani says. “I had to accept the idea of delegating. I need to add that the majority of our projects succeeded thanks to my team. Without their perseverance we would have not lasted, and without their tenacity we would have never overcome the most grueling moments.”
Baboon, a nightclub Mourani opened, only lasted for one season. But he was undeterred. On Oct. 5 last year, he launched Ballroom Blitz. The venue invites attendees to enjoy a musical experience at once classic and cutting edge. “Ballroom comprises a reference to classic music venues, operas, balls, while blitz has an electronic connotation,” Mourani explains.
Ballroom Blitz is located in a 1,200-square-meter space with three huge hallways that connect three rooms offering three different experiences. The night begins in the lobby where a DJ plays introduction music to launch the evening. As the crowd swells, more and more people head towards the second hallway where a DJ is playing music to turn up the heat. Finally, as the evening reaches a crescendo in the early hours just as dawn is breaking, the doors to the “Gold Room” open for a magical ending to the night. The concept is meticulously prepared and unique in Lebanon, and probably the whole region: a varied, changing, diversified experience with a strong musical selection offered by local and international DJs, both emerging and already famous. For now, Ballroom Blitz is only open on Friday nights, but it has quickly become the place to be. “We won the trust of people,” Mourani confirms. “This token of appreciation is the most valuable thing one can ever get. My job is to come up with concepts, execute ideas. I find my strength in this exercise, which spans from the creation to the adaptation of a concept, all the way till the opening date. To find the feeling, the idea and the way to experience and live it.”
(This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour on the 28th of February)
