Maktub means “Destiny” in Arabic and is run by one of the most pleasant and interesting young entrepreneurs in our village.

The owner, your hostess, and new Playa del Carmen entrepreneur is the lovely and charming Carmen Abdala Hadad.

Carmen was born in Chetumal, the capital of Quintanna Roo. She Moved to Mexico City at 18 years old to study and graduated with a Bachelors in Hotel Management and a Masters in Marketing. After several successful years working in marketing and saving her money, Carmen decided to take a long vacation to see the world.

Traveling in Europe with stops in Morocco and Lebanon, she planned to spend 3 months. But she was having so much fun that 3 months turned into 9. She could not believe that she had been away for that long as she made many friends and learned so much.

Carmen’s parents both have Lebanese ancestry. Her mother provided her with Lebanese culture from dancing to cooking. She comes from a large family and cooking was a big part of their gatherings. She really took to the cooking part and has made it her destiny.

On her return home, she had the desire to take what she learned and spice it up with her world travel experiences to start her own business. And Enchalla! Maktub was born.

But where to do it?

As she loves different languages and meeting people from around the world, Playa offered perfect profile - growing, young, and international. There was no other Mediterranean restaurant at the time and she thought Maktub would be perfect. After a few rocks in the road, she finally opened her long awaited restaurant.

“The name Maktub is magical to me, I feel emotional and close to it as this is my Destiny” Carmen says.

“My first 3 months have been excellent and has exceeded my expectations” Carmen explains. “The response from the locals has been outstanding. They make up the majority of my clientele. Maktub comes alive after dark when everyone is out. During our belly dance shows, the place is packed with locals and tourists alike, enjoying the food, music and the important articulate conversations” Carmen says.

Carmen is inspired to be at Maktub everyday by the warmth of her customers, who return time after time and refer others to visit her place. She is most satisfied by providing her clientele the best Arabic food and a happy cheerful atmosphere.

“As this area continues to grow as it has been doing, I envision making our place bigger or moving to a larger space. I mean there are times that I am beyond packed. This new Trendy part of 5^th is becoming so busy and it is not even half completed. I am so surprised how busy it is up here” Carmen explains.

Carmen advises anyone who may consider starting their own business to be very patient with all aspects. "Some things do not get done on time as agreed. There are hang ups and delays from contractors to suppliers. You need to do your homework and be very prepared before starting. Be very dedicated and make sure to be hands on with your clientele and employees.” Carmen advises. “With dedication and hard work it can be done with great joy and pleasure and maybe, just maybe, you too will find your Destiny.”

Maktub is open 7 days a week from 1:00pm - 1:00am.

It is located on 5th Avenue between 28th & 30th in the heart of the Trendy Italian section

Comments (1)

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment