$13 Sandwich Sold in Beirut Reignites Outcry Over Income Divide

The Glow Paradise, a wellness restaurant in the capital Beirut, offered a low-calorie preparation of traditional shish taouk for sale at $13. Reaching 2 times the price of normal sandwiches, this figure reignited the deepening income gap on Sunday, October 25, 2026. Despite backlash over exorbitant pricing, intense demand for the luxury menu did not lose momentum. Hrag Jeghalian, managing partner of the business, announced that the prepared menu sold more than 20 thousand units in 11 days. Jeghalian viewed the heated debate as a natural marketing process.

Why did the $13 sandwich draw backlash in Lebanon?

Sold at 2 times the price of standard products on the market, the sandwich symbolizes the social division created by the 7-year economic collapse in the country. According to United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) data, 4 out of every 5 households cannot meet basic needs. In a country where 80% of the population struggles to survive at the poverty line, lines for luxury consumption stand in stark contrast to general living conditions. For 53-year-old Fuad Fahreddin, who works in the Hamra district, his earned salary is not even enough to cover accumulated debts. Society is split into 2 poles between a minority that spends comfortably and broad masses unable to access basic food.

What scale has the crisis reached in the Lebanese economy?

According to World Bank data, the Lebanese economy has contracted by 40% since 2019. High energy and freight costs are pushing consumer price inflation (CPI) to the 17.5% level. This rate corresponds to more than 4 times the global inflation expectation calculated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to economist Sami Nader, a faculty member at Saint Joseph University of Beirut, the 2019 financial crisis and the 2020 port explosion completely wiped out the middle class. As the consumption base shrank with the exhaustion of purchasing power, 22 restaurants shut their doors just last month.

According to data from the Lebanese Ministry of Energy, private generator bills rose by 20% in August 2026. The increase in electricity tariffs reached 60% compared to February. Due to the collapsed national grid, households and businesses remain dependent on private generators. In a country where the minimum wage is $400, the bill for securing uninterrupted electricity reaches hundreds of dollars. While consumption of the $13 sandwich continues on one side, on the other side the overwhelming majority of the population lives deprived of the most basic public services.

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