Ali AlYousef

Shuwaikhs Hip Street off Fifth

With the recent proliferation of restaurant complexes and strips in Kuwait, youd
think youve seen every possible variation by now. But you havent. That is unless
youve visited the street to the side of Shuwaikh Market. This relatively small street,
approximately 130 meters in length and 9 meters in width, defes what a successful
and youth-attracting strip is supposed to be. It is not fancy, difficult to access,
lacking in pedestrian sidewalks, slightly smelly, insufficiently lit, and from the looks
of it probably unhygienic. And yet, even though I visited it in a hot July night, it was
packed with its youthful visitors!
My Friend and I drove there from Al Jahra Road, taking a right after City Centre and
onto Fourth Street of Shuwaikh Industrial Area. We passed Al Tilal Complex and Lilly
Center and took a left turn at the frst roundabout. We were now on Fifth Street,
where we found ourselves between an abandoned office building on our left and a
row of monotonous dull warehouses on our right. Some untrimmed bushes and
trees on our left had grown to invade the space of the ambiguously-laned street
(two or three depending on the drivers skills). But nevertheless, the traffic jam we
were stuck in, and the bright lights ahead made it clear that we were in the right
place.
When we fnally found a spot to stop the car in the overcrowded sidewalk-turnedparking-lot on our right, we crossed the street along with several other pedestrians.
Our destination was a group of retroftted warehouses that currently house
Shuwaikh Market and its three neighbors facing Fifth Street, which are Spark
Athletic Centre, a nameless store with a huge neon lizard as a sign, and Olympia
Fitness Equipment. But instead of entering Shuwaikh Market, we entered the small
street directly to its left (perpendicular to Fifth Street), and separating it from
another row of semi-retroftted warehouses. The amount of juxtapositions in this
one-way street between these two warehouses was beyond anything I had
experienced previously in Kuwait!
The frst thing that struck me was the amount of people walking, standing, and
chatting on the street. I will emphasize that this is in July, and the weather was not
comfortable, and yet all those well dressed and groomed young men and women
were voluntarily spending time outdoors. And this was not a fancy setting like
Murouj or Arabella either; we were in Shuwaikh Industrial and it was showing. The
targeted renovations that the place had undergone do not hide the white
corrugated metal sheets covering most of the two-story warehouses, nor do they
hide the row of humming HVAC machines cantilevering over the street on
precarious metal platforms. Although, the typical warehouse aesthetic with its
dangling wires, haphazard ducting, and projected shutter boxes is occasionally

Ali AlYousef
interrupted by eclectic commercial plugins sharing what can only be described as
industrial-chic sense of style. And those were what people were crowding around.
In total, there were ten of these commercial plugins, each trying to mediate
between the warehouse setting that surrounds it and the smart fashionable identity
it wants to project. Whats interesting is that four out of the ten interventions are
not food & beverage focused, unlike the case in most recent commercial strips in
Kuwait. In fact, there are three gyms in this small street, including Spark Athletic
Centre, CrossFit Flare, and Empower 31. Excluding Spark, large windows allow
pedestrians to see all sorts of energetic exercises being conducted within these
gyms. For example, as I passed by Empower 31, I saw several sparring partners
barely holding back as they punched each other in the face not two meters from the
gyms streetfront glazing. The gyms emanating thumping music and their visitors
tendency to wear sports clothes as they walk in and out of their workout sessions
gave this entire street an athletic and lively vibe. Then there is also Masaha 13,
which although containing a caf, concentrates its activities around having a CoWork Space and a rentable area ft to host small events. This draws into the street
art enthusiasts and those attending events ranging from music performances and
poetry recitals all the way to panel discussions and cultural diwaniyas. And fnally,
there are the restaurants and cafs of course, including DIY, Roots Eatery, Eitch,
Savory Cuisine, ZOI, and Boost Caf (which is apparently so hip there is no signage
outside to indicate the Cafs name; I had to walk in and past its crowded queue to
ask one of the customers for the name).
This street is full of contradictions. High end cars such as Ferraris and Lamborghinis
are parked throughout its length, while old delivery trucks pass by to service some
of the remaining warehouses. Some visitors dressed in fancy clothes end up walking
on the asphalt due to the lack of usable sidewalk, while handbag-carrying athletes
skip past them in their shorts. And although Shuwaikh Market offers an airconditioned sanctuary from the heat, and access to all the same restaurants and
caf from within, visitors clearly prefer the outdoor eclectic environment,
consistently having to keep clear of passing cars and speaking over the humming
HVAC machines.
What makes this outdoor space successful? I cant claim to be able to pinpoint the
exact reasons, but what I know for sure is that this particular street has a distinctly
unique character and an almost palpable authenticity, more than any other
commercial strip I know in Kuwait. It is also interesting to point out that according to
the latest version of the Shuwaikh Industrial Area masterplan approved in 2015 by
the Municipal Council, several blocks of previously warehouse buildings (including
the one holding this street) have been designated to hold restaurants, retail space,
showrooms, and offices; meaning that we will probably see more examples of this
type of warehouse-turned-commercial street in the near future.