The Halal guys began as street vendors, selling mainly to taxi drivers in NYC in the ‘90s. Now, they have grown into over 400 restaurants in the US and internationally.
Categorizing themselves as “American halal,” The Halal Guys filled a growing need in Manhattan in 1990 – Muslim cab drivers looking for good quality halal food on-the-go.
The founders Mohamed Abouelenein, Abdelbaset Elsayed, and Ahmed Elsaka thus created an international brand. They combined quality food with bright branding – easily recognizable yellow and red carts. Now, consumers around the world can recognize the food franchise.
The Halal Guys feed those who keep New York City running
Halal Guys founders Mohamed Abouelenein, Abdelbaset Elsayed, and Ahmed Elsaka first launched a hot dog cart in 1990. But they found themselves lost in a sea of competition. However, they soon found a niche to fill.
But Abouelenein felt strongly that a “hot dog is not a meal.” So instead, they re-branded themselves as American Halal food, drawing new customers with quality offerings. Their most popular dish is a filling chicken or gyro meat with rice.
Their popularity grew quickly. In the mid-2000s, they began garnering attention from journalists, bloggers, and foodies. In 2013, Buzzfeed named The Halal Guys #1 Most Popular Food Truck. The same year, Ahmed Abouelenein – Mohamed’s son – stepped in as CEO, helping the company franchise and expand around the nation and eventually the globe.
In addition, they earned the 2014 Multicultural Award by the American Muslim Consumer Consortium “for their promotion of diversity and multiculturalism, and their inclusivity to all minorities in America.”
Delivering quality food no matter the circumstances
Back in Egypt, Abouelenein practiced as a veterinarian. In fact, he founded The Halal Guys while studying to get his American certification to practice. But he took quickly to the business, with a customer-centric philosophy that launched them to success.
“I remember my father telling me that the customer always comes first: ‘Don’t worry about success, focus on treating the customer like family,’” writes Ahmed Abouelenein, son of Mohamed Abouelenein. “’If I wouldn’t eat it, why serve it to the customer?’”
Since 2013, Ahmed has joined his father’s company as CEO. Now, Mohamed Abouelenein is the President, Elsaka is the Treasurer, and Elsayed is the Vice President.
Fransmart’s CEO Dan Rowe, an expert in franchising, says, “you could sit down and talk [to the founders] for hours, and the conversation keeps coming back to the plate of food – how do you make the chicken perfect, how do you make the meat perfect, how do you build this perfect place of food?”
This dedication was also apparent in the midst of Hurricane Sandy, which hit New York in 2012. The company’s Chief Operating Officer Mike Speck says, “the joke we heard was that there were three departments: the police department, the fire department, and The Halal Guys department.” He adds, “as the founders would say, ‘we’re different by being there when nobody else is.’”
Though expanding around the world, The Halal Guys won’t lose their NYC identity
In 2014, Rowe predicted that The Halal Guys will “be the Chipotle of Middle Eastern food.” Fransmart, the company behind the franchising and growth of companies such as Five Guys and Qdoba Mexican Grill, has been determined to make The Halal Guys a similar powerhouse.
As of 2020, The Halal guys have 94 locations and 400+ restaurants in development. The company’s locations include expansion to corners of the globe as far as Indonesia, South Korea, and Great Britain.
Ahmed Abouelenein, who first pushed the company to franchise, has more plans. This includes 40 to 50 more locations by the end of this year. “We are working to double our efforts to make sure the quality and brand stay the same no matter where you eat,” he says. However, the opening of more brick-and-mortar locations doesn’t mean less carts. After all, as Abouelenein notes “the carts are what made The Halal Guys.”
Find the nearest Halal Guys location here.
