El Jannah drive-thru, Smithfield: Iconic chicken shop to expand this weekend
Western Sydney will welcome the nation’s first El Jannah drive-through this weekend, with a menu that includes fan favourites like that garlic sauce, shawarama rolls and its latest hit — fried chicken.
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Iconic charcoal chicken brand El Jannah is set to open its first drive-thru in Australia this weekend.
The chicken giant of western Sydney has chosen Smithfield as the location of its latest project, which will operate as a drive-thru and takeaway joint with an express menu that includes its famous chicken offerings, rolls, burgers and fried chicken.
The business opened its first store in Granville in 1998 and has since garnered a cult following with its addictive garlic sauce and Lebanese-style cuisine a favourite among diners.
It now has stores in Newtown, Kogarah, Punchbowl, Blacktown, Penrith and Campbelltown.
El Jannah operations manager Charles Estephan said the business had pivoted more towards quick service in recent years and in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it made even more sense to open a drive-thru.
“It’s more of a contactless service. As well as that, it’s like an untapped field for charcoal chicken,” he said.
“We felt that was a gap we could move into. We do pretty well so moving into that field was a challenge we felt we could take on.”
Mr Estephan said the family business had evolved since his parents launched the brand more than 20 years ago.
“The menu started to grow with us as well.”
From its famous charcoal chicken and shawarma, to burgers and the latest hit, fried chicken, the business has been dedicated to adding “another level of experience with each new store”.
Mr Estephan said he expected this weekend’s grand opening to be just as massive as previous launches.
“We’re kind of preparing for something similar to what we get at all our grand openings to date, which is a massive response in terms of volume — something close to chaos, massive line-up and things just get really busy around here.”
“In fact we could possibly need traffic management,” he laughed.
The store will open on Saturday, August 8 at 3/16 Smithfield Rd, Smithfield.