Transcription
[Music] Imagine a fast food chain so popular police get called in to control the crowds. A place where people wait for hours just for a box of fried chicken. Sounds crazy, right? This is Al-Bake, Saudi Arabia's most loved fast food chain.
Since 1974, Al-Bake has gone from a single store in Jetta to over 120 locations, becoming a cultural phenomenon. But what makes Al-Bake so special? How did a local fried chicken joint become a regional obsession? And why do people go to such lengths to get their Al-Bake fix?
The story of Al-Bake starts with Shakur Abu Gazala. He was born in 1928 in Ramle, Palestine. In 1948, when Shakur was just 20 years old, the Nakba, or catastrophe, displaced him and more than 750,000 people from Palestine. Shakur sought refuge in Saudi Arabia, where he began working for Aramco in 1949. For 15 years, he worked hard and adapted to his new home. During this time, he got Saudi nationality.
But in 1963, he moved to Lebanon looking for better opportunities for his family. There, he tried his hand at various business ventures. By 1965, Shakur had built up some savings, but the bank where he kept his money went bankrupt, and he lost everything he had worked for. Despite this setback, Shakur didn't give up.
He returned to Saudi Arabia with a new idea. He noticed that there weren't many fast food restaurants in the country, and with his wife's support, Shakur decided to open a small fast food place of his own. In 1974, he invested all his savings and signed an agreement with a French company for their special spice blend and equipment. Then, he transformed an old warehouse on Airport Road in Jetta into the country's first broasted chicken restaurant.
But just as Al-Bake was taking off, tragedy struck. In 1976, only 2 years after opening his second restaurant, Shakur passed away at just 48 years old. Shakur's two sons, Ihsan and Ramy, were faced with a difficult decision. Ihsan had just graduated with a degree in civil engineering from King Fahad University in Dhahran. He had a promising career ahead of him, including a job offer as a professional basketball player. Ramy was still studying civil engineering at Tennessee Tech University in the United States.
But instead of pursuing their dreams, they decided to take on their father's legacy. So, they came back to Jetta to save the family business. At 22 and 20 years old, Ihsan and Ramy faced a huge challenge. The business had lost its agency rights, and they were left with a bank debt of $1.8 million. The situation seemed dire. The brothers had to sell off their assets to pay off the debt. Ihsan took charge of operations, and Ramy joined in every aspect of the business, from cooking to serving customers and even cleaning.
The brothers knew they needed something special to stand out. By the early '80s, there were about 400 fast food restaurants in Jetta. Soon, copycat restaurants began popping up, using similar branding and menu items. This forced Al-Bake to take legal action to protect its brand and trademark.
But Ihsan was also determined to improve their product. He went to Paris to study food technology, and in 1984, after returning from France, developed the now-famous recipe of 18 secret herbs and spices. For the next 3 years, the brothers spent their evenings preparing the secret recipe at an unknown location and then flying it to their central kitchen.
The business started to turn around, and in 1986, they rebranded the restaurant as Al-Bake, meaning "the important one" in Turkish. 2 years later, Al-Bake began operating seasonal restaurants in Mina during the Hajj season. This was actually requested by the Saudi government, but it allowed Al-Bake to serve hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. One of these seasonal restaurants became known as one of the busiest fast food outlets in the world, serving up to 250,000 meals a day during peak Hajj season.
Al-Bake then opened in Medina, another key city for Muslim pilgrims. This made the brand even more connected to Hajj. For many pilgrims, eating at Al-Bake became a tradition during their trip, with some even calling it a reward from God after finishing their pilgrimage. Because of its link to Mecca and Medina, Al-Bake became a big deal for Muslims everywhere. It also became a huge part of Saudi culture.
One of the most obvious signs of this is the crazy long lines outside its restaurants. In cities with Al-Bake, people will wait for hours, sometimes in the heat, just to get that famous chicken. Back in the day, in Riyadh, where there were no Al-Bake for years, drivers used to make a 9-hour trip from Jetta with their car trunks packed with chicken. They'd then sell it in Riyadh for way higher prices.
Al-Bake's fame even spread outside of Saudi Arabia. In places like Indonesia and Pakistan, people would hear about Al-Bake from returning pilgrims, and some would pay big bucks for old Al-Bake chicken brought back from Saudi.
Al-Bake's commitment to social responsibility has also played a large role in its popularity. The company donates one riyal from every meal sold to charity, keeping a tradition started by the founder. During the pandemic, Al-Bake donated 10,000 meals per day to people in need during the lockdown in Saudi Arabia.
Often referred to as the "KFC of the Middle East," Al-Bake was exclusively available in Saudi Arabia's western region. But in recent years, the company began expanding both nationally and internationally. In 2020, Al-Bake opened its first international branch in Bahrain. Then, in 2021, they entered the UAE market with a store in Dubai Mall. During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Al-Bake set up mobile restaurants in Qatar, introducing their famous chicken to a global audience.
Within Saudi Arabia, Al-Bake has expanded to new regions, including Riyadh and the Eastern Province. This national expansion has been very popular, with new store openings drawing even more massive crowds. In many ways, Al-Bake is following a similar path to KFC, which became a global icon by sticking to its roots while adapting to new markets.
The big question now is, will Al-Bake ever make it to the West? While it's still mostly concentrated in the Middle East and parts of Asia, the brand's growing reputation and loyal fan base could make a move into Western countries inevitable. If KFC can become a global giant, maybe Al-Bake has the potential to do the same. Maybe the real question is, whether the West is ready for Al-Bake.