[LINK] "Can Fast-Food Chains Get Americans to Try Middle Eastern?"

[rfmcdonald]

Vanessa Wong's Bloomberg BusinessWeek article takes me somewhat by surprise. The idea that Middle Eastern food might not be commonly eaten almost doesn't seem right. Likely it's because of my background in Atlantic Canada, where as this Saltscapes article describes, one of the most noteworthy elements brought by the non-trivial Lebanese immigration to the region was their food. Shawarma not being an option is almost implausible.

The original Halal Guys in Manhattan is a thing of local legend: a food cart that became a word-of-mouth phenomenon with long—and occasionally violent—lines day and night. Now the purveyors of chicken and rice in Styrofoam containers are trying to turn the sidewalk stand into a national franchise concept. After signing with consulting firm Fransmart, Halal Guys now plans to grow into a chain of 100 brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. and overseas in about five years.

Halal Guys isn’t the only one trying to create a market for Middle Eastern fast food in the U.S. Just Falafel, based in the United Arab Emirates, plans to open 160 outlets in North America and has already signed franchise agreements in New York City, New Jersey, Kentucky, San Francisco, and Toronto. Amsterdam’s Maoz Vegetarian already has a chain of falafel restaurants in the U.S.

While starting a “Chipotle of Middle Eastern food” may seem seductive, Darren Tristano, executive vice president at restaurant consultancy Technomic, sees certain challenges that did not confront the successful fast-casual Mexican restaurant. The average American, he argues, lacks basic familiarity with Middle Eastern cuisine. Only 0.5 percent of the U.S. population is of Arab ancestry, according to U.S. Census data.