# The Halal Guys vs Shah's Halal Food

The Halal Guys and Shah's Halal Food sit next to each other here because a consultant's desk often has to answer one question: if this candidate is choosing between two concepts in the same conversation, which filing facts actually differ?

| Field | The Halal Guys | Shah's Halal Food |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | New York platter cart turned QSR | New York-area chicken and rice |
| Category | Mediterranean & halal | Mediterranean & halal |
| US offering | Yes | Yes |
| Headquarters | Astoria, NY | Amityville, NY |
| Founded | 1990 | 2005 |
| Franchising since | 2014 | — |
| Units | 93 (2024) | 58 (2023) |
| Franchised / company | 88 / 5 | 0 / 14 |
| Typical size | — | 1,200–2,000 sq ft |
| Total investment | $461,400–$1,333,500 | $197,000–$405,000 |
| Initial franchise fee | $60,000 | $30,000 |
| Royalty | 6% | 5% |
| Brand fund | 2% | 1% |
| Local advertising | 1% | 1% |
| Total ongoing fee | 9% | 7% |
| Initial term | 10 years | 10 years |
| Territory | Quarter-mile to two-mile radius, set by area | Up to five miles by driving distance, smaller in cities. Non-traditional sites are excluded. |
| Item 19 FPR | No | No |
| Training hours | 160 | 104 |
| Source | May 2024 comparative study of published FDDs | FDD issued 10 April 2024 |

Both brands sell chicken-and-rice and related platters that a candidate will treat as the same conversation. The filings do not. The Halal Guys row is a franchised QSR built from a New York cart, with 88 franchised and 5 company units in the 2024 count. Shah's 2024-era row reports 58 outlets of which none were operating as franchises; forty-four of those outlets ran under license agreements.

That is the first diligence fork. A license count is not a franchise validation list. Item 20 contact information and the right to call former franchisees attach to franchise relationships. A large licensed footprint can still be operating evidence, but it is a different legal and support structure.

Fee stack and Item 7 also diverge. Shah's disclosed percentage subtotal is lower, and its Item 7 range sits well below The Halal Guys' $461,400–$1,333,500. The Halal Guys filing in this set makes no Item 19 representation; Shah's record likewise shows no FPR. A consultant cannot fill either blank with a broker's store-average slide.

Training hours are disclosed on both: 24 classroom and 136 on the job for The Halal Guys, 19 classroom and 85 on the job for Shah's. Those are attendance commitments, not quality scores. Territory language also differs: a quarter-mile to two-mile radius for The Halal Guys against up to five miles by driving distance for Shah's, each with the usual venue and density qualifications that only the current agreement settles.

## Questions this pair actually decides

- Is the buyer being offered a franchise, a license, or a mix, and which list can they actually call?
- Does the Item 7 format match the site they have in mind, or a smaller licensed counter?
- What does the current FDD say about Item 19, and who is excluded from any later representation?
- How much of the "system" is still company-operated, and what does that mean for supply and support?

The [Mediterranean and halal essay](/mediterranean-and-halal/) is the category reading. Neither column is a certification of "halal QSR quality."


This is a filing comparison, not a recommendation. Neither column is a winner. Read the full cards: [The Halal Guys](/franchises/halal-guys/) and [Shah's Halal Food](/franchises/shahs-halal/).

---
HTML: https://franchiselandscape.com/compare/halal-guys-vs-shahs-halal/