Arts
Aline Kamakian is a renowned restaurateur, author, and founder of Mayrig. Mayrig, which means “mother” in Armenian, is one of Beirut’s most beloved restaurants, which she founded in 2003.As we are all aware, the city of Beirut was hit with a massive explosion on August 4th causing mass destruction, leaving at least 190 deaths, 6,500 injuries, and destroying half of the city’s homes and businesses which left 300,000 people homeless.Aline was located in the heart of Beirut just 500 meters from the blast. Aline found herself in the middle of an unthinkable situation. In a span of 3 seconds Aline found her restaurant completely destroyed, employees severely wounded, and no time to even think about the devastation. She has now become a leader in her community, feeding 2500 people in a day and rebuilding homes of her employees. Aline has become a pillar of hope for her people who have been abandoned by their government.In this episode, Aline shares how she became interested in food, building a successful hospitality franchise spanning several countries, and the work she’s doing now to help rebuild all that was lost as a result of the explosion. Her stories are truly lessons of leadership, resilience and kindness.