New Halal Restaurant Opening Soon, Serving Gyros + Kebabs In Anne Arundel County

ODENTON, MD — A new Halal restaurant is opening soon in Odenton.

The eatery, Naz's Halal Food, already has its sign hanging in the Odenton Shopping Center. The business is still building out its space, however.

Halal, meaning "permissible" in Arabic, is food that is allowed under Islamic rules.

Naz's Halal Food will serve dishes like gyros, falafel and kebabs. The menu will also feature chicken and lamb over rice.

The restaurant will be located at 1147 Annapolis Road between H&R Block and Dollar Tree. The eatery will fill the vacancy left by a dry cleaner.

Kareem Mohmend launched Naz's Halal Food with his cousin, Naz, in 2009. The business started as a food truck in Queens, New York.

The cousins were both teachers in the same New York City public school, so the food truck was originally just a side job.

The customer base grew so the partners opened their first brick-and-mortar location in 2018. That flagship site is still satisfying Long Island customers in North Babylon, New York.

Naz's Halal Food started franchising, helping the company open several other restaurants in New York, Delaware, Maryland and Virgina.

Google Maps listed the current Maryland locations as:

• Denton
• White Marsh
• Ellicott City
• Germantown
• Rockville
• White Oak
• Burtonsville
• Bowie

"Through hard work, dedication, and maintaining family values, Naz's Halal Food is building their brand by treating everyone like family," the eatery said on its website. "Every location has a family-style environment where often times servers will know patrons on a first name basis."

The Odenton restaurant has not yet announced its opening date.

Patch visited the site on March 20 to check its progress. The eye-level windows are still covered with brown paper, but the upper windows let us catch a glimpse of the interior.

There were not yet any tables inside. Workers were still installing kitchen equipment.

Permits posted outside said the business will have three fryers, two griddles and two rice cookers. There will also be a walk-in fridge and freezer. The permits did not mention the maximum seating capacity.

The 2,692-square-foot eatery has been in the works for quite some time.

Kyung Baek submitted the permit application to turn the space into a restaurant on Sept. 8, 2022.

Customers can learn more by visiting nazshalal.com and following the business on Facebook.

Do you know a business that's opening, expanding or closing in Anne Arundel County? Email [email protected] with the details.

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