Beloved Tel Aviv restaurant closes: economic burden and drug addict plague take their toll

Another blow to the restaurant industry in Tel Aviv: the "Para" group announces the closure of the "Gita" restaurant in the Levinsky Market this coming Sunday. The painful decision to close the popular venue was made following a difficult combination of a complex security reality, bureaucratic burden from the municipality, and deterioration in the public space in the area.

The group's owners — Aviad Peled, Ori Steinberg, Tom Gov, and Aliza Shraga — describe severe burnout in an interview with N12. According to them, alongside the effects of the fighting, the daily struggle against a plague of drug addicts and ongoing neglect in the market, combined with expensive regulatory requirements, made maintaining the business impossible. Peled, whose flagship restaurant "Para" is known, among other things, as a culinary landmark for Donald Trump's envoys in Israel, calls on the authorities to wake up and warns that without municipal support, Tel Aviv will lose its cultural and vibrant character.

Despite the closure, the group refuses to stop and is directing resources toward developing new ventures and strengthening existing institutions. As part of this, the group is taking an unusual step relative to the downsizing trend in the industry and is expanding operating hours: the "Krut" wine bar has launched a new breakfast menu, while the "Para" restaurant is now opening its doors daily from noon, including on Sundays — a day when most restaurants in the city remain closed.