One person died and several were injured. Chino is now out of business.
Minutes later, an explosion was heard at the nearby Al Rehman juice bar, followed by the bomb at Dasko, left on the wall of an empty shop next door. The blast blew apart the wall, destroying booths and causing other damage.
The operators received no warnings, although posters in the neighborhood had been prodding people for months to end their sinful ways and one of the other juice bars had been ordered to stop letting boys and girls "indulge in immoral acts" on its property.
"We never knew who placed the bombs," says Khuram Butt, a waiter. "Fortunately the one that hit us was relatively small and seemed to be aimed more at scaring than killing."
An adjoining shop that sold DVDs suffered collateral damage of sorts.
"The militants also hate DVDs, so I got very scared and switched to selling clothes," says Abdul Kalam, his window decorated with five pairs of dusty jeans and three handwritten signs seeking someone to take over his lease. "I probably lost $7,000 and make no money at this, all because of fear."
Juice bars, a feature in many Pakistani cities, seem a reasonable way for many lower middle-class young people to relax.
"It's something to do and it doesn't cost much, maybe 70 cents," says Zulqernain Tahir, a reporter in Lahore with the newspaper Dawn. "These attacks are very unfortunate."
Most of the stores probably have been targets of opportunity, analysts say.
"It's really a matter of conveniently hitting people," says Mohammed Jawwad, an assistant professor of psychology at Lahore's University of the Punjab. "Basically they don't like coed gathering, even though coed gatherings are a part of Islam, including the hajj itself. There's a real narrowness of thinking."
Dasko's sales fell after the explosion. But without another juice bar attack in several months, business has begun to increase.
The staff has stepped up security, proudly displaying a "Super Scanner" brand metal detector wand, although its use seems a bit random.
"I could tell you weren't dangerous so I didn't use it on you," Butt, the waiter, says to a Westerner. "You didn't seem to be carrying anything."
The staff says it's now keeping a closer eye on customers leaving bags behind and keeps only one door open to better monitor those entering. It has also put up some new drywall and repaired decorative arches damaged by the blast.
"They were trying to stop our way of life," says Naeem, the owner. "Sure, it's dangerous to stay in this business, but what can we do. We have no other way of making a living."
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mark.magnier@latimes.com
