After recognizing a demand for halal food among New York cab drivers, three partners with a hot-dog stand in Manhattan set out to make a name for themselves in the Middle Eastern food market. The men began to sell chicken gyros and eventually became a very popular location to pick up halal meals.
After 25 years and expanding outwards to a full blown restaurant in New York, The Halal Guys became a chain, with its doors opening in Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, and a few other locations. The Halal Guys will open May 14 on 3133 North Oakland Avenue and there are plans to open a restaurant in Madison as well.
Managing partner of the Milwaukee Halal Guys, Ravit Ansal hopes to have the same deal of success as the other venues in New York and Chicago.
“Coming to Milwaukee, I think one of the things that we’ve been doing well is having free food trucks at sites like UWM,” Ansal said.
Part of the restaurant’s success is having people promote it on social media. The Facebook page for the Halal Guys has over 50,000 likes while the official Oakland Avenue location has a little more than 1,000. “People talk, they tag others so they know about the brand, and then they tag their friends,” Ansal said.
Business partner Dustin LeFebvre met Ansal at the University of Chicago when they were both in business school. LeFebvre hopped on board to help get the Halal Guys to Milwaukee after Ansal offered him a job.
“Once I tasted the food, I kind of fell in love and just got excited to be a part of this process and sharing something new, something different for all kinds of different people,” LeFebvre said.
Customers have come down to Chicago and New York to try out the food after learning about the variety. One customer, Rick Eggert, flew out to New York with his wife and family in order to get them to experience the food.
“I wanted to try more of it, it was so good,” Eggert said. “I did some research and people on the internet were saying ‘hey there’s this food cart on the corner of 53rd street and 6th avenue and that is the place to go for this food.”
Menu options include chicken, gyros, falafels with options for a platter or sandwiches. All of each is served with pita, lettuce and tomatoes. One of the key signature ingredients is a white sauce which has been described as a mayonnaise type paste with various seasonings.
“People have tried to replicate it,” Eggert said. “I’ve tried to at home, and I cannot do it.”
Ansal and LeFebrve recommend the chicken and gryo combo platter, because it includes rice and hot sauce as a part of the meal.
“I think it’s what the whole Halal Guys really is, it’s that combination of gyro and chicken and hot sauce on the platter,” LeFebrve said.
There will be free gifts like water bottles and merchandise, for people who come to the May 14 opening.. The plan is to open more restaurants in Milwaukee depending on how well the Oakland location does.