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Legendary Manhattan food cart operators The Halal Guys announced an enormous franchise expansion earlier this year, promising Las Vegas would be among the first of 200 worldwide restaurant locations. Since that February announcement, no updates have surfaced, even as the Halal Guys menu of chicken, gyro and falafel over rice has expanded to Chicago and an imminent Costa Mesa, CA outpost.
Southern California franchisee Thomas Pham recently revealed 50 more locations are still planned for their region, focused on Orange County and areas close to Los Angeles, but made no mention of progress in Las Vegas.
Now, an online timeline for investors appears to hint an arrival will be a long way off. The timetable, which has not been updated to reflect the recent new locations, still plots a Las Vegas debut, but not until September 2016. It also places Downtown as the "potential location."
Investors only need to find a 1,000-1,400-square-foot outpost to meet the franchise requirements and serve the limited menu of gyros, chicken and rice, plus the brand's "magic" white sauce that caused long lines and frequent hour long waits at their food carts.
In February, franchisees revealed they were looking at both the Strip and Downtown, noting the round-the-clock Vegas scene fits with the original Halal Guys business model of serving the New York nightclub habitues until 4 a.m.