I always wondered what is the oldest fast food restaurant in Kuwait and when was it opened? My wild guess was that it’s probably Wimpy, KFC or Hungry Bunny. This was until I saw this picture for the first ever Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet to open in Kuwait back in 1973 (that’s 40 years ago), I never knew fast food was that old in Kuwait! They say the first two outlets were located in Salmiya and Dahiya Abdullah Al Salem and owned by Americana group.
Personally Kentucky Fried Chicken (which was re-named later to KFC only) was the first fast food restaurant that I ever ate at in Kuwait back in early 80s and it was so tasty back then but the tastiness has gone over the years, well maybe it’s just me. Somehow having a fast meal felt like something special (sort of a VIP thing) back then. The fast food trend has continued to grow in Kuwait with the opening of Wimpy and Hungry Bunny in 80s then came along McDonald’s (1994) and Burger King (1997) if I remember correctly? I recall McDee’s first outlet was the one opposite to Sheikh Sa’ad Al Salem Al Sabah palace on the waterfront. Wendy’s and Arby’s in Salmiya were also among my favorite-list in early 90s, sadly they were both closed. Nowadays Kuwait is stuffed with fast food restaurants that keep popping up in every other corner. So what was your favorite fast food restaurant?
Kaifan is one of my favorite suburbs in Kuwait, it’s also one of the oldest ones too. A friend of mine who lives in Kaifan has emailed me a rare footage for Kaifan in 70s showing the developments such as medical, police station and other governmental services. I felt more like it’s the 60s rather than 70s when I watched the video, what do you think?
Note: The video uploader has changed the video title to 60s, just like I thought it seemed more like 60s rather than 70s. This is also a dedication to our friend bloger Kaifan5.
Remember the documentary video that I talked about back in November 2010 [link]? It begins with a young Kuwaiti man “Ibrahim Buresly” who visits a typical English village and speaks to the camera about Kuwait. A blog reader has emailed a higher quality video for the documentary, I waited almost two years to get this documentary but it’s finally here. The films tells many interesting facts about Kuwait History including busy streets, construction site & builders, oil industry, children, food, law… etc.
Our friend Almubarkia has shared a photo for Baladiya dismantling the popular Salmiya Roundabout Monument (AKA دوار الشيوخ) supposedly because it’s already wore out and they say it will be replaced with another new monument. I think this monument was there since 1992 and many people refer to it when they are trying to locate an address or road directions in Salmiyah. It did look rather good with creative idea because it displayed different ruler of Kuwait from every angle you look at it, sadly it’s gone now but I wonder who was the artist or designer behind it. Does anyone has a photo for Salmiya roundabout before they removed the monument? I tried to Google it but couldn’t find any.
Ahmadi City was and still one of my favorite suburbs in Kuwait, I always feel like I’m not in Kuwait when ever I’m there and I simply like how streets and houses were designed with an American layout because it was mostly dwelled by British expats in 40′s and beyond, it also has historical significance since it’s one of the oldest cities in Kuwait and oil (AKA black gold) was first discovered in Kuwait in Ahmadi back in early 30′s. As for the name it was named after late Sheikh Ahmad Al Jaber who ruled Kuwait during the period 1921-1950. The great news is that during my work related visit to Ahmadi today I saw that they placed hoarding all around the old abandoned buildings in Ahmadi Souk that was built I think during 40′s to restore/preserve it as historical monument, awesome.
Finally the mentailty is changing in Kuwait and the “demolish & re-build” policy was neglected this time, thankfully. I heard that people of Ahmadi and Kuwait Oil Company has demanded to preserve the old buildings instead of being bulldozed by Baladiya or whoever, and the plan now is to have them restored by National Council for Culture, Arts & Literature (NCCAL) and registered in UNESCO. I hope they will also inlcude the Drive-In Cinema in their restoration plans. I hope I made your day with this news, who’s excited?
I always wondered what is the oldest fast food restaurant in Kuwait and when was it opened? My wild guess was that it’s probably Wimpy, KFC or Hungry Bunny. This was until I saw this picture for the first ever Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet to open in Kuwait back in 1973 (that’s 40 years ago), I never knew fast food was that old in Kuwait! They say the first two outlets were located in Salmiya and Dahiya Abdullah Al Salem and owned by Americana group.
