Pretty soon after becoming the owner of a Fullerton IHOP in 2006, Mohammad Ashraf saw he had a problem — he couldn’t eat meat at his own restaurant.
Ashraf, who is Muslim, only eats halal meat, meaning the meat is slaughtered and prepared according to Islamic law. He also does not eat any items with pork as it goes against his faith.
“In the beginning, I was [at the restaurant] 12 to 14 hours per day, and, you know, I have to eat too,” Ashraf said.
He asked his staff to prepare his own meals with a personal stash of halal meat, making sure there was no cross contamination. While doing that, he was also asking IHOP’s corporate offices to approve the sale of halal meats to his customers.
It took years, Ashraf said, to finally get turkey bacon and beef sausage approved.
“Most Muslim people try to stay away from sausage and bacon, because it’s mostly made out of pork, so I wasn’t that interested in those items,” Ashraf said.
The taste of the halal bacon and sausages didn’t appeal to him because he wasn’t used to eating them. He knew he needed different halal meats on the menu to give his Muslim customers the ability to enjoy their meals without violating their beliefs.
While he worked on getting official approval, friends and family began asking if they would be able to eat at the restaurant using his personal inventory of halal meat. The need to serve Muslim customers continued to press on him.
Ashraf also owns an IHOP in Tujunga, near the IHOP corporate offices. Often times, corporate trainees would end up interacting with Ashraf, who was always emphasizing the need for these items on the menu.
Ashraf and his district manager, Mariana Macias, sent in applications to IHOP’s corporate office for seven items, but only one was approved at the time.
IHOP did not respond to questions regarding the approval process of Ashraf’s halal items.
Still, it was a small win.
“For me, it’s a personal thing to push halal,” Ashraf said. “I know…
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