The archive · Small Business & Money · Product decision · 1990–2014
The Halal Guys grow a hot dog cart into a global halal franchise
Three Egyptian immigrants pivot their 1990 NYC hot dog cart to halal platters for Muslim cabbies — lines follow, and a 2014 franchise deal turns it global.
The Halal Guys
What it had to solve
In 1990 three Egyptian immigrants ran a hot dog cart at 53rd Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, but Muslim taxi drivers had few places to get authentic halal food in the city. The founders changed the menu to serve them.
How it works
The Halal Guys began in 1990 when Mohamed Abouelenein, Ahmed Elsaka and Abdelbaset Elsayed, three Egyptian immigrants, opened a hot dog cart at the corner of 53rd Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. They switched the menu to halal food because Muslim taxi drivers had few outlets for authentic halal food in the five boroughs.
The cart's platters of chicken and gyro over rice, falafel sandwiches and signature sauces won a following that quickly grew beyond Muslim cabbies. The original carts operated around the clock, and the 53rd Street corner became famous for long lines that stretched down the block.
By 2014 the brand had four more carts and two brick-and-mortar stores in the works, and the founders signed a deal with franchise developer Fransmart to turn the street cart into a fast-casual restaurant chain. Fransmart hoped to reach 100 locations within five years and described the ambition as 'the Chipotle of Middle Eastern food'.
The company says it is now a global franchise with more than 400 restaurants in development worldwide, and it still credits its original NYC customers and tourists for making the brand famous.
Why it lands
- The pivot targeted a real underserved need — halal food for Muslim taxi drivers — instead of chasing the mainstream.
- A strong signature format of platters, sauces and 24-hour carts created word-of-mouth lines that made the brand famous.
- Proven street demand gave the founders leverage to franchise rather than bootstrap store by store.
- Keeping the original cart and its story gave the chain authenticity as it scaled.
What it did
The original cart still drew lines down the block; by 2014 there were four more carts and two stores in the works, Fransmart planned 100 locations within five years, and the brand grew into a global franchise with more than 400 restaurants in development.
What you can take
Listen to the customers your current product doesn't serve: the pivot for Muslim cabbies created the demand that outgrew the cart, and a proven cult format scaled through franchising.
Since then
After the 2014 Fransmart deal, The Halal Guys expanded across the United States and into other countries as a fast-casual franchise. The company reports more than 400 restaurants in development worldwide, and its own pages carry rankings such as Entrepreneur's hottest new franchise. The original 53rd Street and Sixth Avenue cart remains the brand's origin point and still draws the long lines that first made the founders famous.
Sources
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