How Shah's Halal grew its food cart menu into a global chain

Shah’s Halal started out as a food cart on the streets of Queens in New York City in 2005, selling gyros and rice bowls with Afghan flavors. The simple menu used 100% halal ingredients, a rarity at the time, but the demand for halal food kept growing. 

Although the quick-service menu now is more extensive, it’s still very simple, said CEO Khalid Mashriqi during the podcast. Burgers, chicken sandwiches, wings, and falafel are options along with the rice bowls and gyros, and Shah’s differentiates from other Middle Eastern concepts by its focus on halal ingredients and signature sauces — some now available at retail. 

The company is vertically integrated, complete with a USDA-certified facility for processing meat and a commissary, which makes halal sourcing and preparation less challenging. Franchising is powering growth, although a number of locations are company-owned. 

Listen to learn how Mashriqi and his team intend to focus on expanding to smaller, more diverse communities, how Shah’s is partnering with a shawarma influencer to tell its story, and what’s next for the menu and the concept. 

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Menu Talk is a collaboration between Restaurant Business Senior Menu Editor Pat Cobe and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News. You can subscribe to it wherever you listen to podcasts.