Shah's Halal Food × City of Us
Restaurant & Franchise · New York, NY · 2026
About Shah's Halal Food
Halal Food FranchiseEstablished in 2005 with one food cart in Richmond Hill, Queens, Shah's Halal is now a 130+ location international franchise doing $150M+ in annual sales. Recognized as Entrepreneur magazine's #1 Mediterranean franchise and #83 fastest-growing franchise in America.
- HQ: Amityville, NY
- Web: shahshalalfood.com
Project Overview
Shah's Halal Food catered the City of Us Knicks Game 5 watch party — feeding a room of creators and fans with the same Queens-rooted halal food that's grown from a single Richmond Hill cart into a 130+ location franchise. A $150M+ brand entering the moment through food, not ads.
Project Details
- ClientShah's Halal Food × City of Us
- IndustryRestaurant & Franchise
- LocationNew York, NY
- Year2026
- ServicesBranded Content, Creator-Brand Partnerships, Influencer & Creator Marketing
The Challenge
Shah's Halal had grown into a major international franchise, but needed to stay culturally connected to its NYC roots and reach a younger audience beyond traditional QSR advertising. The challenge was showing up authentically — not as a chain trying to be cool, but as a Queens family business feeding its own neighborhood's biggest moment.
Our Solution
We brought Shah's Halal into the City of Us Knicks Game 5 watch party as the food partner. MD Ahnaf Hossain, himself from Jamaica, Queens, and Shah's — founded in Richmond Hill, Queens — share the same neighborhood. The catering wasn't a logo placement; it was a Queens business feeding a Queens creator's moment, with the food itself becoming part of the content.
The Result
Shah's Halal connected with a Gen-Z and Millennial NYC audience through an authentic Queens voice at a moment of peak civic energy — not as an advertiser, but as the brand that fed the room. It reinforced their positioning as a community-rooted franchise, not just a chain.
Deliverables
- Creator-brand partnership brokering
- Watch party catering activation
- Food-as-content creative direction (the meal became the content)
- Brand-community alignment rooted in shared Queens heritage
Technologies Used
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