opened<\/a> in August.<\/p>\nIn an interview with The Michigan Daily, Almulaiki said he wanted to recreate the flavors from where he used to call home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to bring the New York style food to Ann Arbor,\u201d Almulaiki said. \u201cI was actually missing eating chicken over rice and halal food \u2014 I used to live in New York City, and I wanted to just bring it here so I don\u2019t have to crave it, and then I have to go there. But I wanted to bring it closer home.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Daily, LSA freshman Oscar Allen said the new restaurant differs from traditional NYC street food he is used to as a New York resident.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\n\u201cStreet food in New York City is usually from a small cart with one owner,\u201d Allen said. \u201cI can say, though, that it doesn\u2019t diminish the quality of the halal food whatsoever. The food is as good or even better, I\u2019ll say this is one of the best halal places I\u2019ve ever been to, and I have been seasoned within halal,eating it almost every single day of high school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allen also emphasized the importance of having late-night options for students.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve only been here past (midnight) and the fact that they\u2019re the only place open on the entire street\u2026 I think it\u2019s a special thing,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n
Malik Musleh, a Halal Bros 2 Go staff member, told The Daily that along with the University students coming to the restaurant, social media has played a big role in attracting customers from other areas of Michigan.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of our customers and clients are from social media, or they would be college students,\u201d Musleh said. \u201cI\u2019ve had people actually drive from 40-50 minutes away from places like Detroit, Canton \u2014 Dearborn, especially \u2014 and they say they\u2019ve just seen on Tiktok, where people do reviews on the restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\nAlmulaiki described what the NYC street food experience means to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NYC street food vibe, it\u2019s staying up late to 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. and then taking a train to Manhattan to get some chicken over rice, or to get some lamb over rice with friends and hanging out,\u201d Almulaiki said. \u201cThat\u2019s what it means to me, NYC street food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Almulaiki also discussed the restaurant\u2019s simple menu, but said he is already thinking about potential future additions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to do a simple menu,\u201d Almulaiki said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to incorporate 20 items or 30 items, or even 100 items like we have here at Bodega Bros, but we wanted to do a small, eight item menu. But there\u2019s still room for growth. We might be thinking about bringing in spicy rice, we\u2019re thinking about bringing in spicy chicken, spicy lamb.\u201d<\/p>\n
Musleh told The Daily about the specific dishes that keep customers coming back.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\n\u201cSo we have, I\u2019d say, around three or four items that customers ordered the most,\u201d Musleh said. \u201cThat\u2019d either be chicken over rice, which has rice, chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and three types of sauces \u2014 our white sauce, which is like garlic and mayo, green sauce, which is like jalapeno, and red sauce, which is like hot sauce \u2014 and then we have exactly the same, but in lamb. And then we have a mix, which is chicken and lamb.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overall, Allen said he is happy to see a halal restaurant open in Ann Arbor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can say I was very refreshed to see a halal option within the Ann Arbor area,\u201d Allen said. \u201cI know that a lot of the dining halls do have halal options\u2026 But I think as a store, it\u2019s flourishing within the community. I\u2019m glad to see a halal place grow up like this and become successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daily Staff Reporter Kayla Lugo can be reached at <\/em>klugo@umich.edu<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\n
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