The One-Man Operation Turning Out Incredible Halal Smashburgers

As a child in Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bu Jubarah would secretly spice up the dishes his mother was preparing. “For example, my mom would marinate fish with a blend she’d create at the local spice store,” he tells Eater Seattle. “She liked to keep the flavor light, but because I liked bold flavors, I would add more of her spice blend and salt when she was not looking. And when she’d make kabsa [a traditional Saudi rice and chicken dish], I would add sugar to balance the sour flavor of the tomatoes.”

Despite his childhood tinkering, it took Bu Jubarah, now the owner of Halal Smash BRGR, a long time to get into the restaurant game. First he moved to Spokane to study English in 2013, then he got an information technology degree at Central Washington University in 2019. After moving to Seattle and working in the tech sector, Bu Jubareh got laid off and worked as a food delivery driver, which rekindled his interest in cooking.

His thoughts turned to burgers. They were a favorite cheat meal from his usual healthy diet, and he knew that others considered burgers a guilty pleasure worth going out for. He worked on perfecting burgers on his Blackstone griddle, getting feedback from friends.

Bu Jubarah’s burgers had a twist from the beginning: He made them with halal beef and spiced them with special seasoning options. A practicing Muslim, he knew that there weren’t all that many halal restaurants in Seattle (and Washington in general). “I’m sure there are a lot of Muslims who would want a place to have a good, classic burger, and I want to make them the same as I’d make them at home, providing the same quality.”

While other halal restaurants in the area use pre-made halal patties, Bu Jubarah fashions fresh halal ground beef into meatballs to press on the grill. (At some point, he plans to grind the meat for his burgers himself, but he’s currently constrained by lack of kitchen space.) He wanted to use Dijon mustard in some sauces, but since it contains white wine, he turns to other mustard options. (Some ingredients, like balsamic vinegar, are subject to debate about whether they’re halal or not.)

Last year, Bu Jubarah signed a lease for a ghost kitchen at CloudKitchen’s Capitol Hill location, which gave him a small kitchen space that had nothing but an exhaust hood and a sink. He bought all his equipment new to ensure it had never touched pork, for example. After months of preparation, he opened his takeout-only business and sold his first burger in October.

The burgers are carefully prepared and assembled. From a French baker with a production facility in Canada, Bu Jubarah sources brioche buns so buttery that they need no butter when getting grilled golden-brown. Only when the grill reaches a precise temperature, he places his meticulously measured meatballs on it, smashing them with a burger press using a pancake-like technique to ensure even thinness with lacy edges. He keeps a keen eye on them to see that they’re perfectly cooked on one side before scraping and flipping them for a quick sear on the other side. After transporting the finished patties to the awaiting bottom buns, Bu Jubarah adds appropriate toppings, places the other halves of the buns on top, and then uses a custom branding iron to etch Halal Smash BRGR’s logo into each bun.

Jay Friedman

Halal Smash BRGR has four burgers on the menu, each centered around its own handcrafted sauce: Classic, Smoky, Truffle (with mushrooms), and Spicy. Smoky is the top-seller, featuring a sauce with smoked and toasted spices that impart grill flavor, plus jam-like sweet caramelized onions and halal beef bacon. Those onions and bacon also come on a loaded fries dish that includes Fry sauce, cheesy sauce, and a combination of regular and sweet potato fries.

Essentially a one-man show, Bu Jubarah orders and picks up ingredients and supplies, does marketing, and works the grill until the 11 p.m. closing time — 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Since the ghost kitchen has no real brick-and-mortar identity (though customers can come to the location to pick up orders from a locker if they don’t want delivery), he has been relying largely on social media marketing and positive word-of-mouth to sustain and grow his business.

Bu Jubarah has a goal of getting out of the ghost kitchen and is currently plotting a path to opening his own brick-and-mortar. His childhood memories of regularly going with family and friends to a McDonald’s-like chain called Herfy shapes his vision for the future restaurant. “I want my restaurant to be family-friendly, reminiscent of burger places back in Saudi Arabia,” Bu Jubarah says. “Going out to eat there is a great time because not only do the burgers taste unique, but the packaging and restaurant decoration are top-notch.”