Reporting and photos by Ankita Menon
Updated with reactions from Qatar residents
The once-popular and now empty food stand at the end of the Corniche near Sheraton Park will reopen as a Costa Coffee this spring.
Hoardings for the new shop recently went up on the Corniche. The previous stand, which sold popcorn, QR2 karak and other various drinks and snacks, closed about a year ago after the Municipality opted not to renew its license.
Speaking to Doha News today, construction workers on the site said they have been working to overhaul the interior of the stand for the past three months.
Representatives of design and contracting company Blueprint, which is managing the project, said 70 percent of the work has been completed since construction began in mid-January.
The coffee shop will have indoor and outdoor seating, and are targeting an opening for mid-March, they added.
UPDATE | 1:44pm
On Twitter, residents have expressed some strong reactions about the news:
@dohanews so they are replacing a shop that sells stuff for 2 QAR with a shop that sells stuff for 12 QAR+? Who came up with this nonsense?
— Yacine (@____yacine____) February 26, 2014
@dohanews : there goes another piece of Doha’s soul. Globalisation – 1, humble chaiwallah – 0. Corniche walk will never be the same again
— Aju George Chris (@Greeeker) February 26, 2014
@dohanews they could have went with tea time! Corniche desperately needs a tea time!
— Hasan (@abuimad) February 26, 2014
What?! This is not okay! “@dohanews: Corniche karak stand to be replaced with Costa Coffee http://t.co/uuCK8Y3QAx pic.twitter.com/r7roVjH1gs”
— LanaKrei ✗O (@inkreidible) February 26, 2014
What are your thoughts?
