Shop will be open only to non-Muslim diplomats – but some fear it is first step to wider availability of alcohol in teetotal kingdom
The news that Saudi Arabia will allow its first alcohol shop has citizens and foreigners alike mulling one question: is this a minor policy tweak, or a major upheaval?
Sources familiar with preparations for the store disclosed details of the plan on Wednesday, as a document circulated indicating just how carefully leaders of the teetotal Gulf kingdom will manage its operations.
Located in the capital’s Diplomatic Quarter, the store will be accessible only to non-Muslim diplomats, meaning that for the vast majority of Saudi Arabia’s 32 million people, nothing will change for now.
Additionally, purchasing quotas will be enforced. Access to the store will be restricted to those who register via an application. And customers will be asked to keep their phones in a “special mobile pouch” while they browse for beer, wine and spirits.
Still, some Riyadh residents told AFP they saw the development as the first step towards wider availability of alcohol, which would be a dramatic break from the nationwide prohibition that has been in place since 1952.
“This country keeps on surprising us,” said a Lebanese businessman dining on Wednesday night at LPM, a French restaurant in Riyadh known for its lengthy list of non-alcoholic wine and cocktails mixed behind an 18-metre (60-ft) long marble-top bar.
“It is a country that is developing, that is growing and that is attracting a lot of talent and a lot of investments. So yes, of course, there’s going to be much more.
