El Jannah to open in Norwest, Frango Charcoal Chicken to reopen at Bella Vista in October
Chook cravings are going into overdrive in a Sydney neighbourhood where an iconic charcoal chain is set to expand and an established Portuguese poultry shop will reopen.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Hills is poised for a battle of the birds with El Jannah opening on Saturday and Frango’s due to reopen on October 11.
Norwest is the second El Jannah franchise to open in The Hills after it made its debut at Baulkham Hills in March last year.
The charcoals will fire up at Norwest Marketown at Century Circuit, while a couple of kilometres away the flavours of Portugal are tempting tastebuds with the reopening of Frango at Bella Vista.
The shop on Lexington Drive will open following a fire and be a welcome return for a legion of loyal customers.
Foodie Kevin La, who runs the hugely popular Instagram account Sydney Food Boy, believes both eateries can thrive.
“They’re completely different things to me,’’ he said.
“One day you might crave Lebanese, the other day you might crave Portuguese and I like them both.
“It would be nice to see them pop up in more suburbs.’’
Amanda Mowbray is an El Jannah devotee but said “of course there’s room for two”.
“I prefer El Jannah, I prefer the sauce, the chips, the chicken – it’s absolutely delicious,’’ the business manager said.
“A lot of my clients love Frango’s, but I don’t love their chips.’’
Over the next financial year, El Jannah is spreading its signature aioli across 15 franchisees in NSW, Victoria and Canberra.
Western Sydney remains the heartland for El Jannah, which was founded by Andre and Carole Estepha at Granville and Punchbowl in 1998.
It has lodged plans with Blacktown Council to open at Plumpton Marketplace (in the former Gloria Jean’s cafe) in December, but is also venturing into new territory with proposals to debut on the north shore at Crows Nest.
Frango’s roots began in the inner west where it was established by Luis and Ana Fernandes at Petersham in 1989 and it grew a reputation for serving succulent chicken with “hot and creamy” chilli sauce.
It opened in Marrickville on Wednesday, making it the ninth Sydney outlet and has flourished at Bella Vista.
“Frango Bella Vista has established its iconic status in The Hills because of our amazing food and brand history dating back to 1989,’’ a spokeswoman said, adding how it was still proudly family owned.
Luis junior helms the business, which continues to use a roast chicken recipe his father discovered while living in Angola for 10 years.
‘I admire Pauline’: Shock Indigenous candidate ready to roll for Hanson
A one-handed Indigenous truck driver endorsed by One Nation for the federal election says he is running to end the ‘hoax’ that Pauline Hanson is racist.
Nats dump candidate just four days after selecting him
A doctor preselected by NSW Nationals members on Sunday to contest the upcoming Port Macquarie by-election has mysteriously failed to gain party endorsement.