Burgers, broasted chicken, chicken wings, gyros, banana bread pudding, bubble tea, soft serve and refreshers are just some of the new items offered by halal restaurants that have recently opened or are scheduled to open in Skokie.
The increase in halal eateries reflects a growing desire among Muslim customers for restaurants where they can dine as much as it represents the next generation of restaurateurs making their mark, according to Asad Iftikhar, the owner of The Fry Fusion.
Many of the new restaurants, he said, are owned by immigrants or immigrant families.
The Fry Fusion opened its doors at 8818 Gross Point Road for a grand opening ceremony on Sept. 5. A week before, Sizzle, which serves a modest menu of two burgers, a chicken sandwich, wings, sides, drinks and soft serve held its grand opening ceremony in downtown Skokie at 4853 Oakton Street.
A third halal restaurant, Burger Baba, is in the works to open this year along Oakton Street and Niles Avenue, according to the village of Skokie’s Director of Communications and Community Engagement Patrick Deignan.
As the number of Muslims in the Chicago area has kept growing, the market for more halal businesses has also grown, according to Iftikhar. The results have been a boom of halal businesses in Lombard and the west suburbs and Skokie in the northern suburbs.
Iftikhar estimates that most of the new halal restaurants are owned by families, with each new business either resulting from someone passing the torch to the next generation or people buying their way into an existing successful business franchise. In his case, The Fry Fusion is part of Ifthikhar’s family business, which operated for 30 years on Chicago’s South Side selling burgers and gyros.
After the pandemic, Iftikhar decided to open restaurants closer to where he lives in Skokie. He said he wanted to make them healthier too, with broasted chicken being an alternative to fried chicken. He also decided that he wanted the food to be halal to cater to north suburban Muslims.
Halal restaurants need to purchase meat from vendors who slaughter animals in a particular way, according to Iftikhar. Butchers need to pray while they kill an animal and let the blood run out of the animal’s body.
Iftikhar explains that the custom is done to cleanse the meat and to show respect to God. “God says all humans are the same… if I don’t respect everybody, I’m not a Muslim. If I say I am better than you are, it’s not allowed in Islam,” he said. “We have to respect everybody. If we disrespect somebody, God will put me in hell. If I respect them, people are happy and God is happy.”
The practice doesn’t change the way meat tastes, and all are welcome to eat it, Iftikhar said. The only other difference is in the higher the cost of the meat, as most halal vendors don’t have economies of scale.
The prospects of running a halal restaurant in Skokie and Lombard have only gotten more attractive as restaurants have opened in both areas, Sizzle co-owners and brothers Shafath Baig and Fazilath Baig told Pioneer Press.
“A lot people suggested we go to Lombard,” Shafath Baig said. “I was like, no, we want to start out in Skokie first and then maybe later for different locations.”
“Not everybody is a halal customer,” Shafath Baig pointed out. “I see a lot of customers who don’t even care if it’s halal or not. They’re coming because they like the food,” he said. “But… I don’t eat anything outside halal.”
The two brothers said their first job anywhere was at a Skokie restaurant, The Port of Peri Peri in downtown Skokie.
The beginning of a career in the food industry was not easy, Fazilath Baig remembers.
“Back then, we had nothing… it was a really tough time,” he said. “We used to work from (the restaurant’s) open to close… One night our car broke down… and no one would help us,” he said.
Fazilath Baig worked a couple odd jobs, selling motorcycles, working at a smoke shop and driving Uber. With the support of his brother, who worked in IT, his family’s vision and help from two silent partners, Fazilath and Shafath Baig opened Sizzle.
Sizzle is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to midnight, and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. The Fry Fusion is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to midnight, Saturday from 2 p.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday from 2 p.m. to 11:30 a.m.