The Halal Guys restaurant to open location in Vestal

VESTAL, N.Y. — The Halal Guys, a fast-casual eatery started in New York City, will open a location in the Vestal Plaza in Vestal in early November.

The brand expects to announce further details — including a firm opening date as well as grand opening events and promotions — “in the near future.”

It will bring its famous chicken and gyro platters to a Binghamton–area located brick-and-mortar location.

Besides the chicken and gyro platters, the restaurant also offers Middle Eastern staples like falafel, hummus, and baba ganouj, “all prepared without alcohol or pork in accordance with halal standards.”

In 2014, the Halal Guys began expanding its authentic halal cuisine from the food cart into restaurants and now operates more than 90 locations within the U.S., Canada, Indonesia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, per a company news release.

About the Halal Guys

Starting with a humble hot-dog cart on West 53rd St. and 6th Ave. in Manhattan three decades ago, the Halal Guys — Egyptian immigrants and founding partners Mohammed Abouelenein, Abdelbaset Elsayed and Ahmed Elsaka — identified an untapped market: the “hungry cab drivers of New York City.”

Realizing that the city’s cab drivers, many of whom are Muslim, were looking for “affordable, quick and delicious” food prepared in accordance with Islamic dietary guidelines, the partners started serving their now-famous chicken or gyro platters with rice and a slathering of the “renowned white sauce, the exact formula of which remains a well-kept secret,” per the release.

As lines grew longer, the business expanded from one cart to five and has since “grown into a global icon known as the largest American halal street food concept in the world.”

Patrons of the upcoming Vestal location will have the option to take out or dine in, as well as to order online or through the brand’s mobile app. The Halal Guys also offers a catering service to accommodate corporate events, holidays, weddings and private parties, the company said.

Visual credit: The Halal Guys news release