FranchiseVerdict
The Halal Guys logo
FV-02648·MODERATEExcellent86

The Halal Guys

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2014Website
Investment
$418K – $1.3M
56th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
57th pct Full Service
Royalty
6.0%
54th pct Full Service
Units
85
80th pct Full Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $418K – $1.3M including a $45K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 63/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 30 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -9.1% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
THE HALAL GUYS FRANCHISE INC.
Incorporated in
New Jersey
HQ
10-02 34th Avenue, Astoria, New York 11106
Auditor
Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$13.1M
vs $13.8M prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one The Halal Guys unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $418K–$1.3M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $25K–$100K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

12%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$113K
EBITDA margin
15.0%
Total invested
$926K
Payback
99 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate fast-casual halal food restaurants serving chicken, lamb, and gyro platters with rice and salad in high-traffic urban locations. Day-to-day operations include food prep, counter service, customer management, inventory control, and staff oversight in a quick-service model. The brand emphasizes street-food authenticity with limited seating and high volume throughput.

CEO
Ahmed Abouelenein
Founded
2014
FDD year
2025
States available
16

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$418K – $1.3M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$25K – $100K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$45K
Royalty
6.0%
Percentage of Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
85
Opened
4
Last reporting year
Closed
12
Turnover rate
14.1%
Company-owned
5
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
94%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-9.1%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-9.1%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
80-8
Franchised units
2024
88
Franchised units
2025
88
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 17 states with active franchisees

The Territory Map

Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 17 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
30
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

63
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE63 / 100

The Halal Guys presents HIGH RISK due to shrinking franchise system (9.1% YoY decline), undisclosed financial performance, ongoing wage violation litigation, and going concern issues masking true profitability.

Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDUnit count declined 9.1% YoY (85 units) indicating system contraction and potential franchisee struggles
  2. 02MEDNo Item 19 financial disclosure (avg revenue/net income not disclosed) prevents assessment of actual profit potential
  3. 03HIGHMultiple active/recent litigation including ongoing class-action FLSA wage violation lawsuit creating liability exposure
  4. 04MEDHigh initial investment range ($417K-$1.3M) combined with 6% royalty creates significant cost burden on undisclosed margins
  5. 05HIGHGoing Concern = False suggests franchisor may have reported going concern warnings in financial statements
  6. 06HIGHFraud/breach of contract claims in settled disputes indicate governance and franchisee relations issues
  7. 07HIGHDeclining unit count + litigation + no financial transparency = inability to validate ROI

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
3
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
New York

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
50 hrs
On-the-job training
134 hrs
POS system
Revel
Operating tech stack

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

36 numbers

Locked
(484) 679-••••
PA
(212) 259-••••
NY
(626) 290-••••
NE

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

The Halal Guys · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above