If you can get through your whole meal without using your cell phone at his Abu Ghosh restaurant, Jawdat Ibrahim will give you a 50% discount. The restaurant owner thinks cell phones are ruining his customers’ meals, and he’s willing to pay them to unplug.
Ibrahim has had enough with smartphones at the table: “A lot of people, they sit down and they don’t enjoy their food, their company,” he told the Associated Press. By the time customers put their phones down, Ibrahim sometimes needs to reheat their food. Other customers eat entire meals in silence.
Having started the Jerusalem restaurant with his winnings from the Illinois state lottery, Ibrahim can afford to offer food at half-price to any customer who can eat a meal sans phone. “I’m changing something,” he said. “It might be something small, but maybe in some way, I’ll be changing the culture of eating.”
Ibrahim says diners should focus on food and conversation. “Technology is very good. But just when you eat, just especially when you are with your family and your friends, you can just wait for half an hour and enjoy the food and enjoy the company.”
We applaud Ibrahim’s restaurant activism and would like to offer him another target. Forget the dinner table: 20% of young adults use their cell phones during sex. How can we tackle that offense?
Featured image via Phil and Pam
Food deserves special attention in case it is healthy and leads to health’s improvement. As for cell phones, they bring no good in a company; don’t distract from real life conversations. They may know more here