New York’s King of Falafel Is Planning a Chicago Expansion

Earlier in July, a vague Instagram post from Fares “Freddy” Zeideia brought joy to Chicagoans familiar with Zeideia’s famous New York restaurant, King of Falafel & Shawarma. Zeideia announced he was opening his first restaurant outside of the Empire State. He’s picked the suburban locale of Chicago Ridge and hopes to open in mid-September.

Zeideia’s legend has grown since he opened his first food cart in 2002 in Astoria, New York. While Chicagoans may be familiar with halal street food carts — Halal Guys arrived in Chicago in 2018) — Zeideia says he declined expansion overtures. He objected to greedy investors taking control of what he built. “The Falafel King of Astoria,” as the New York Times called him in 2016, has built a kingdom of two food trucks and one restaurant.

The Palestinian immigrant has family in the Chicago area, and Zeideia’s business partner lives there, too. Zeideia spoke about how Chicago is the Palestinian capital of America with the largest community in the country — it’s mostly focused in the Southwest Suburbs along Harlem Avenue through Bridgeview. That’s why he’s opening the first King of Falafel outside of New York in the suburbs, about 35 minutes from Downtown Chicago near that Palestinian enclave. The location will be for takeout and drive-thru only. Any upcoming locations would have dining rooms. Zeideia says he wants to open three or four in the Chicago area, including in the city proper.

“Everyone over the years has been telling me to come to Chicago, come to Chicago,” Zeideia says during a mid-July interview. He apologizes for not immediately returning a message. He underwent open-heart surgery the week before.

Blissfully unaware of Chicago’s restrictive food truck and mobile food cart laws, Zeideia says he also wants to open a food truck in town. After that, he’ll turn his attention to opening restaurants in Dallas. The New York operation has nothing to do with a similarly named San Francisco restaurant that closed in 2015. Zeideia also wants folks who have visited the New York restaurant to experience the same feel.

“I’m not going to change anything,” he says. “It’s going to be the same, old Freddy; the same attitude, same personality.”

That includes the restaurant’s branding, which now includes the phrase “Free Palestine.” Zeideia has celebrated his Palestinian pride more overtly in recent months as the war in Gaza continues. He’s plastered a cast of politicians — from President Joe Biden to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — on the floor for customers to step on; Zeideia calls them war criminals and blames them for the death toll overseas. He’s encountered backlash. Those disagreeing with his views have led a campaign to have Google erroneously list his restaurants as closed.

However, Zeideia has found more supporters thanks to how social media spreads his exploits. He says random folks will approach him and ask, “Aren’t you the guy with the things on the floor?”

Chicagoans know the type of restaurant owner Zeideia represents. He’s someone who connects with customers and shows up daily to build strong rapport with his customers. He was back at the restaurant a day after heart surgery. Zeideia says he didn’t want to be bored away from the restaurant. While he is excited to be in Chicago to see his six grandchildren more, he’s still a New Yorker to the core. Zeideia says he craves the city’s manic pace which other cities can’t match: “In Chicago, you can sit on a light and nobody honks their horn,” he says.

King of Falafel and Shawarma, 6085 W. 111th Street in suburban Chicago Ridge, planned for a mid-September opening.