How LA Superstar Fatima’s Grill Navigates Social Media Fame Amid a Pandemic | Eater LA

"In a tight, L-shaped stucco strip mall on Firestone Boulevard in Downey, California, I found Fatima’s Grill, a chaotic, Instagram-fueled takeout operation where dance music pounds into the parking lot and white party tents accommodate makeshift outdoor dining. The menu is deliberately outrageous — cheesy, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos-laced burgers, giant quesaritos, overloaded fries, nacho-cheese–drenched burritos, Hot Cheetos–crusted chicken tenders and halal Lebanese shawarma sandwiches — and the always-energetic owner, Ali Elreda, runs service from a booming PA, calling orders while enforcing pandemic rules (two inside at a time, masks required, use the QR-code menu). Elreda’s backstory — eight years in federal prison and the commissary-kitchen lessons he picked up in Safford, Arizona — directly informs the Lebanese-Mexican mashups, and his social-media savvy (north of 165,000 Instagram followers and a TikTok that hit more than 4 million views) drives fans to line up for hours and even travel hundreds of miles. To manage demand and safety he’s leaned on delivery apps and a direct-ordering app, tightened protocols, and limited indoor access, and he’s exploring franchising through Franchise Creator (licensing deals starting at $35,000) while insisting he won’t resume indoor dining until he’s confident it’s safe for his staff, whom he repeatedly praises as the foundation of the business." - Farley Elliott