Here's what a typical work day is like for a Halal Guys cart vendor, who prepares food for hundreds of customers, works until 5:30 in the morning, and even braves hurricanes to serve hot meals

Jessica TylerDec 2, 2018, 21:35 IST

Business Insider/Jessica Tyler

The Halal Guys' food carts are open almost 24 hours a day, rain or shine, and there seems to never be a shortage of customers.
The chicken-and-rice chain has been growing throughout New York City and has ambitions to open as many as 400 more restaurants globally, CEO Ahmed Abouelenein told Business Insider.
I spent a morning shadowing The Halal Guys' general manager Mohamed Omar at the chain's original cart on the corner of 53rd Street and 6th Avenue.

There's a lot that goes into The Halal Guys' famous chicken-and-rice platters.

The Halal Guys carts, which are open from 10:00 a.m until 4:00 a.m. on weekdays and 5:30 a.m. on weekends, have a constant stream of customers lining up to try its platters and sandwiches. The chain's carts are open rain or shine, even in snowstorms and hurricanes. Before the sun even rises, carts are washed, vegetables are chopped, and vendors are stocked up with everything they'll need for the day.

The Halal Guys' first cart opened in 1990, initially becoming popular with Muslim cab drivers looking for fast, authentic halal food, which is food that's permissible under Islamic law. The chain has since grown to five carts and two restaurants in New York City, plus 82 locations across the country. The first brick-and-mortar location opened in 2014, just before the company began its franchisee program with Fransmart.

And according to CEO Ahmed Abouelenein, the expansion is only just beginning. Abouelenein told Business Insider that The Halal Guys plans on opening as many as 400 restaurants globally over the next several years, with more than 100 opening in the first quarter of 2019.

In New York, general manager Mohamed Omar oversees the kitchen at headquarters and each of the five Halal Guys carts. Omar started with The Halal Guys six years ago as a driver, and before becoming a manager he worked at the carts, cooking food and training new employees.

I spent a recent morning shadowing Omar at the original cart on the corner of 53rd Street and 6th Avenue. Here's what the day was like:

See Here's what a typical work day is like for a Halal Guys cart vendor, who prepares food for hundreds of customers, works until 5:30 in the morning, and even braves hurricanes to serve hot meals >>

My day started at The Halal Guys' headquarters in Long Island City, where the carts are washed and stocked every morning.

In addition to the five food carts, there are two Halal Guys restaurants in New York City.

All of the ingredients are stored at the headquarters ...

... and food is chopped and prepared all morning in the industrial kitchen.

Around 7 a.m., the carts are stocked and driven to their respective locations. By the time I got to the kitchen, the carts were already on their way to Manhattan.

I spent the morning with the team at the original cart, on the corner of 53rd Street and 6th Avenue. Vans carrying the prepared ingredients were parked around the corner from the cart.

Food was constantly being moved from the vans to grills down the block from the cart. There were big puddles everywhere, and the food had to be carried across the street at rush hour. Still, everything made it to the grills without an issue.

After the food was cooked, it was brought over to the main cart. Everyone working was constantly on the move.

Omar said the carts never close, even in hurricanes. When asked whether he found it hard to do his job when it was freezing cold or brutally hot, he said, "It's what I have to do, and as long as customers are getting a hot, fresh, meal, I'm happy."

It was cold and rainy out when I was at the cart, but nobody at the cart seemed to mind. If a free moment came up, the cart employees would grab a cup of hot coffee from a food cart down the block and carry on. Everyone remained in good spirits, despite the bad weather.

Omar said that many employees stay at The Halal Guys for years because the company generally only promotes from within. "I started as a driver six years ago, then joined a cart, then joined the training program to train other employees, then I was promoted to a manager, and now I'm the general manager for all of the carts," he said.

At 10 a.m., after about an hour of setting up the cart and preparing food, it officially opened.

The Halal Guys serves a few different kinds of platters and sandwiches. The platters are $8, and the sandwiches are $6.

Food has to be prepared constantly to keep up with demand. While most of the food prepared at the carts has a four-hour shelf life, Omar said that falafel has to be cooked to order because it's best served within a few minutes.

There was already a line of customers shortly after the cart opened.

There was also a line of customers at another Halal Guys cart across the street. I asked Omar if the two carts compete with each other. "Never. Each one has regular customers, so it's never an issue. You either go to this one or to that one," he said.

Even though the carts are small, there are quite a few people working at each. There are four servers who handle the food, one person who takes customer orders and handles money, and a few people who maintain the carts and clean up food that's fallen.

Because everyone was moving around so much, it was hard to capture them all in one photo.

There were a few instances when an employee would have to run an order to a delivery driver down the block. Everything moved very quickly — it was impressive to watch. "Delivery is important so we can be reachable to all of our customers. It makes life easier for them," Abouelenein said.

Omar said that everyone working at the carts is friends outside of work as well. He mentioned that many of the cart employees spend time off playing soccer or going out for food after a shift.

By noon, the lunch rush had started. The carts stay consistently busy until around midnight, and on weekends they are often busy until they close at 5:30 a.m, Omar said. The carts will stay open even later if people are waiting in line.

"It all comes down to the plate," Abouelenein told me. So for lunch, I tried the falafel sandwich. It was stuffed with falafel, lettuce, tomato, and it was prepared in under two minutes. The food was hot, flavorful, and delicious.

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