New York’s King of Falafel Is Planning a Chicago Expansion | Eater Chicago

"A famed New York halal-cart-turned-restaurant founded by Palestinian immigrant Fares “Freddy” Zeideia is opening its first location outside New York in suburban Chicago Ridge as a takeout-and-drive-thru-only spot slated for mid-September. The chef-owner, who began with a food cart in Astoria in 2002 and has since grown to two trucks and a restaurant while resisting outside investors, intends to reproduce the exact feel and menu of his original operation and plans additional Chicago-area locations (and eventually restaurants in Dallas), plus a local food truck despite restrictive city rules. The owner is known for hands-on customer rapport—returning to work immediately after open-heart surgery—and for outspoken Palestinian pride, adding “Free Palestine” to the branding and placing images of politicians on the floor for customers to step on, a politically charged tactic that has drawn both backlash (including efforts to falsely mark the business closed online) and widespread support amplified by social media. He chose the suburban site partly because of family and a business partner in the area and because of the large local Palestinian community nearby." - Ashok Selvam