AlBaik

About the Founder and Founding Story

Shakour Abu Ghazalah was born in 1928 in the city of Ramleh, Palestine.^[7] In 1948, he was forcefully expelled from his home amid the Lydda and Ramle operations against the Arab residents of the city during the nakba.^[8] Subsequently, he moved to Saudi Arabia. In 1949, he started a career with Aramco and worked in the kingdom for the next 15 years. During that time, he obtained Saudi nationality, aided by his unofficial refugee status like that of many Palestinians in the KSA.^[9]

In 1963, to provide a better living for his family, Shakour and his wife temporarily moved to Lebanon, where he undertook a series of entrepreneurial endeavors.^[10] By 1965, he had built a modest fortune, but faced a significant setback as the bank where he kept his money went bankrupt, leading to the loss of his savings.^[11] Continuing down the entrepreneurial route back in Saudi Arabia, Shakour observed the absence of fast food establishments and opened a small fast food restaurant with the support of his wife.^[12] He signed an exclusive agency agreement with the French company Broasted, allowing him to use their special spice blends and equipment for fried chicken.

Following the oil boom, Shakour anticipated that Jeddah would be a prime location for his growing business as the demand for food and beverages services there was sure to increase.^[13] At first, he faced challenges when the electricity supply didn’t reach his planned location for the first restaurant. He thus transformed an old warehouse on Airport Road in the Sharafiyah District into Jeddah’s first broasted chicken restaurant. Officially opening in September 1974, it marked the beginning of his fast-food industry venture under the name Broast.^[14]

Growth Phase 

Two years later, Shakour opened a second branch of Broast in Jeddah’s Al Dakheel Building, where he had originally sought to launch the chain. In 1976, Shakour was diagnosed with cancer and passed away at the age of 48.^[15] After his death, his two sons, Ihsan and Rami, took over the restaurants.^[16]

Following Shakour’s passing, the business lost its agency rights and had to start over. Shakhour’s eldest son Ihsan had just graduated with a degree in civil engineering from King Fahad University in Dhahran, with the intention of pursuing a career in the field. He was also a successful basketball player, and had a professional basketball job offer lined up.^[17] He chose, however, to return to Jeddah to save the family business from shutting down.^[18] He and Rami, in their early 20s, were faced with having to pay back a bank debt of 7 million Saudi riyals.^[19]

The two brothers sold off assets and eventually managed to pay the debt. Ihsan took over the business, making operations more efficient and reducing costs. By the time he took charge, the fast food landscape in Jeddah had transformed and become highly competitive, with 400 such establishments around the city. The brothers understood that they needed to focus on offering better quality and create a standout recipe.^[20]

In the early 1980s, Rami Abu Ghazaleh graduated from Tennessee Tech University with a civil engineering degree.^[21] He immediately returned to Jeddah and joined the business. Trained as engineers, the two brothers began with little knowledge of the food industry, which they had to pick up from scratch. Rami took on various tasks such as cooking, serving customers, and cleaning. Ihsan, meanwhile, went to Paris to study food technology. In 1984, after his return from France, he formulated the business’s now famous recipe of 18 secret herbs and spices. The two brothers spent the following three years dedicating long hours every evening preparing the secret recipe at an undisclosed location, and transporting it to the central kitchen for preparation.^[22]

To further stand out from their competitors, Ihsan, along with his late wife Laila (Monique), designed a new logo for the business, and the family gathered together to brainstorm ideas for a new name.^[23] They ultimately landed on ALBAIK, a Turkish word referring to an important person, similar to “sir” or “pasha.”^[24] In 1986, the ALBAIK brand was officially launched.^[25]

Throughout the following decade, the business steadily expanded, serving pilgrims at the holy site of Mina during the Hajj season beginning in 1988 and opening its first outlet in Mecca in 1990.^[26] In 2001, ALBAIK launched a new restaurant in Al Madina Al-Munawwarah.^[27] Building on its success in Saudi Arabia, the company began to establish a presence in other Gulf countries, opening two branches in Bahrain in 2020, and in June 2021, their first branch in the United Arab Emirates.^[28]

Today

Today, ALBAIK is under the management of the founder’s sons, with Ihsan serving as chairman of the board of the ALBAIK food systems group of companies, and Rami assuming the role of CEO.^[29] Headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, ALBAIK has over 120 branches, predominantly located within the KSA. These include more than 40 branches in Jeddah, 10 in Mecca, and eight in Medina.^[30] The company has further expanded its reach with branches in other Gulf countries such as the UAE and Bahrain.^[31]