Bringing Middle Eastern flavors to Namibia
An idea that was developed and put into action
Meatpoint Namibia's first authentic Middle Eastern food spot.
Located in Grove Mall, Windhoek, Meatpoint was established in October 2019. Opening a Middle Eastern food spot had been a dream of Mr Cohens since he first moved to Namibia in 2008 as he wanted to introduce authentic Middle Eastern food to the Namibian market as this had not been done before. “On a visit to Johannesburg we met a chef from Turkey, Chef Ozdemir, and we started chatting, told him about our idea and a few months later we brought him to Namibia and opened the first authentic Middle Eastern restaurant in the country,” said JP Karuaihe, one of the partners.
Meatpoint sells a variety of Middle Eastern foods starting from a homemade hummus, baguette, pita, luffa to pizza, salads, veggie fries and much more. Meatpoint meals are halaal and all their spices are authentic and their condiments are homemade. Middle Eastern food encompasses a variety of cuisines. It's generally characterised by fragrant and copious spices, nuts, olive oil, and creamy elements.
The idea of trying new foods can be scary due to the fear of being disappointed, especially to people who are new to Middle Eastern cuisine, it can be quite intimidating to try. “Ask any Meatpoint fans and they will soon tell you about Meatpoint’s dishes, that are not only delicious to taste, but healthy to the body and filling to the soul. Exotic, glorious and scrumptious, to say the least,” said Pandu Hauwanga , a regular Meatpoint customer when asked about her opinion on trying Middle Eastern food at Meatpoint for the first time in her life.
Health-Conscious Cuisine
Middle Eastern food is all about fresh ingredients and adding plenty of vegetables to the dishes. Fried foods are rare in Middle Eastern cooking, which instead uses baking, grilling, and raw ingredients. These are just a couple of the reasons why this type of cuisine is healthier than the standard modern diet. With plenty of fresh vegetables, wholesome ingredients, preservative-free foods, healthy fats like olive oil, and shawarma, shakshuka, falafel and kebabs.
As well as lean sources of protein like chicken, Middle Eastern foods are believed to lower heart disease and cancer, boost vitality, and increase a person’s life expectancy.
Careers asked the manager, Luzaan Blaauw, what some of the challenges have been with running Meatpoint over the past few years and Covid-19 was a huge challenge for the restaurant. “During this time, the entire industry more or less came to a complete halt. Covid-19 forced many restaurant businesses, large and small, to make changes to the way they operated, including Meatpoint. Sit-downs were closed to customers. Making the best of a challenging situation, meat Meatpoint point and many other restaurants have added delivery and carryout to their services. That way customers could enjoy Middle Eastern food from their favourite spot. Carryout and delivery became the new normal, and we had to use the tap-a-meal service to deliver food to our customers and that had become the new normal. Some businesses have been forced to close their doors. I think the biggest change had been the several new safety measures. Employees needed to follow new safety rules all the time. It was the only way for them to be effective. This included changing gloves, wiping each table with a fresh towel, and wearing masks,” said Blaauw.
A lot has changed since then. Now that a lot of the strict regulations have been lifted, even the wearing of masks, this allowed for the business to slowly but surely pick up again and gain momentum. Now Meatpoint has more customers who go out with their families for a meal
Meatpoint sells a variety of Middle Eastern foods starting from a homemade hummus, baguette, pita, luffa to pizza, salads, veggie fries and much more. Meatpoint meals are halaal and all their spices are authentic and their condiments are homemade. Middle Eastern food encompasses a variety of cuisines. It's generally characterised by fragrant and copious spices, nuts, olive oil, and creamy elements.
The idea of trying new foods can be scary due to the fear of being disappointed, especially to people who are new to Middle Eastern cuisine, it can be quite intimidating to try. “Ask any Meatpoint fans and they will soon tell you about Meatpoint’s dishes, that are not only delicious to taste, but healthy to the body and filling to the soul. Exotic, glorious and scrumptious, to say the least,” said Pandu Hauwanga , a regular Meatpoint customer when asked about her opinion on trying Middle Eastern food at Meatpoint for the first time in her life.
Health-Conscious Cuisine
Middle Eastern food is all about fresh ingredients and adding plenty of vegetables to the dishes. Fried foods are rare in Middle Eastern cooking, which instead uses baking, grilling, and raw ingredients. These are just a couple of the reasons why this type of cuisine is healthier than the standard modern diet. With plenty of fresh vegetables, wholesome ingredients, preservative-free foods, healthy fats like olive oil, and shawarma, shakshuka, falafel and kebabs.
As well as lean sources of protein like chicken, Middle Eastern foods are believed to lower heart disease and cancer, boost vitality, and increase a person’s life expectancy.
Careers asked the manager, Luzaan Blaauw, what some of the challenges have been with running Meatpoint over the past few years and Covid-19 was a huge challenge for the restaurant. “During this time, the entire industry more or less came to a complete halt. Covid-19 forced many restaurant businesses, large and small, to make changes to the way they operated, including Meatpoint. Sit-downs were closed to customers. Making the best of a challenging situation, meat Meatpoint point and many other restaurants have added delivery and carryout to their services. That way customers could enjoy Middle Eastern food from their favourite spot. Carryout and delivery became the new normal, and we had to use the tap-a-meal service to deliver food to our customers and that had become the new normal. Some businesses have been forced to close their doors. I think the biggest change had been the several new safety measures. Employees needed to follow new safety rules all the time. It was the only way for them to be effective. This included changing gloves, wiping each table with a fresh towel, and wearing masks,” said Blaauw.
A lot has changed since then. Now that a lot of the strict regulations have been lifted, even the wearing of masks, this allowed for the business to slowly but surely pick up again and gain momentum. Now Meatpoint has more customers who go out with their families for a meal
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