Growing restaurant chain expands with Amityville warehouse acquisition 

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When it started out with a single food cart in Queens 20 years ago, the owners of Shah’s Halal Food couldn’t have imagined the growth it has achieved. 

But the family-owned company has since become an international chain of restaurants and just purchased an Amityville industrial property to expand its warehousing and distribution operations. 

Shah’s plunked down $7.15 million to acquire the 49,000-square-foot building on 1.8 acres at 5100 New Horizons Blvd., located across the street from the 10,000 square feet of industrial space it occupies at 6500 New Horizons Blvd. 

The company plans to dismantle its new building’s 19,733-square-foot mezzanine and use the remaining 29,330 square feet for warehousing and distribution. The building features three loading docks, two drive-in bays, 22-foot-clear ceilings and 4,500 square feet of office space. 

Shah’s CEO Khalid Mashriqi told LIBN that the company had outgrown its current space at 6500 New Horizons Blvd. and will continue to use that USDA facility for food processing. 

“We’re expanding nationally and internationally,” Mashriqi said. “And we just started franchising six months ago.” 

Shah’s opened its first-ever brick-and-mortar restaurant on Long Island in 2016. The company is currently expanding that original 1,500-square-foot restaurant in the Delco Plaza shopping center in Hicksville to 2,500 square feet, Mashriqi said. 

Today, the chain has more than 90 locations, with another 60 in development. Shah’s has 23 restaurants on Long Island, including its newest eatery at 1767 Dutch Broadway in Elmont, and Mashriqi said the company will soon open another in Bay Shore. 

Internationally, Shah’s has 60 restaurants in London, eight in Sweden and two in Canada, with more on the way, as it is seeking to expand further through franchisees. The cost to open a Shah’s Halal Food franchise ranges from $200,000 to $400,000, according to its website. 

The menu at Shah’s features an assortment of platters, salads, gyros, sandwiches, sides and more. Mashriqi said one of the chain’s best sellers is its lamb and chicken combo platter, served with Shah’s signature sauces. 

Max Omstrom and Andrew Gonzalez of JLL represented Shah’s, as well as the seller, New York RR LLC, in the Amityville sales transaction.