Shah's Halal Food, the New York chain that grew out of a single Queens food cart, has filed plans for a restaurant at 200 Edgewood Avenue NE. A building permit application submitted to the City of Atlanta lays out a space of roughly 2,470 square feet, with room set aside for customers who want to sit down and eat rather than grab an order and go.
The address puts the newcomer a short walk west of the Municipal Market, which downtownATL has covered before.
For now, the permit application is the main public record of the project. It identifies the tenant, the Edgewood Avenue address, the approximate footprint and the inclusion of an indoor dining area, which together describe a sit-down storefront. That is a notable step up in scale from where the company began two decades earlier.
The brand traces its start to 2005, when it began serving from a cart in Richmond Hill, Queens. Franchising has since carried it past 90 locations, the bulk of them along the East Coast. Its own website describes the company as entirely halal and says its franchise approach favors neighborhoods with deep historical roots.
On the menu, rice platters anchor the lineup, offered with chicken, lamb, fish or falafel. Gyros, salads, chicken sandwiches and Philly cheesesteaks round things out. The fan favorite is the signature White Sauce, a house condiment that blends Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors.
The company frames its mission around bringing people together over food, pairing Middle Eastern cooking with a New York City sensibility and aiming for a sense of welcome and belonging at the counter.
Downtown would become the chain's third address in metro Atlanta. Existing outposts operate in Peachtree Corners, at 5450 Peachtree Parkway NW, and in Marietta, at 2821 Chastain Meadows Parkway NW.
No opening date was given in the report. downtownATL will share updates as the project moves forward.
Original reporting by Libby Allnatt for What Now Atlanta.
