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How El Jannah grew from a family charcoal chicken restaurant to a global competitor
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How El Jannah grew from a family charcoal chicken restaurant to a global competitor

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Beloved El Jannah restaurant chain had humble beginnings in 1998, when Lebanese immigrants opened a small charcoal chicken shop in Sydney’s west.
Nearly three decades later, the company has grown to 50 stores across the country and could go global after being acquired by US private equity firm General Atlantic in a deal expected to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“It’s a phenomenal milestone for the brand. We’re 27 years old and we feel like we’re just getting started,” Brett Houldin, CEO of El Jannah, told SBS News.

“It was a great opportunity to find the right partner for us, a partner that will help us continue the journey we have been on to bring Lebanese culture and food to Australians.”

Upholding the traditions

General Atlantic has approximately $118 billion in assets under management.
The American investor has acquired a controlling interest in the charcoal chicken chain for an undisclosed amount, which Houldin describes as a “large sum”.
“It is a meaningful appreciation for the organization and something we are proud of,” Houldin said.

With the new partnership, El Jannah aims to open more than 25 restaurants over the next 12 months and expand to 200 stores across Australia over the next five years.

International expansion was “definitely on the horizon,” Houldin added.
“It’s going to ensure that we can do it in a really measured and successful way, and that we can just continue to reinvest in our service culture and our food quality,” Houldin said.
“We bring our food to the restaurant every day and we want to honor all those traditions.
“El Jannah has the opportunity to go to so many great places. We looked at markets all over the world. There will be some very interesting ones.

“The Estephans who founded our brand want to start by taking a look at the Middle East, back in their home country, where they think it could do exceptionally well.”

The story of the Estephans

El Jannah – Arabic for paradise – was founded in 1998 by Lebanese immigrants Andre and Carole Estephan in the western Sydney suburb of Granville.
The flavors are inspired by childhood memories of a paradise once found in Lebanon.

El Jannah’s menu revolves around Lebanese-style charcoal chicken and its accompanying garlic sauce – a seasoning the company describes as a family recipe and their “best-kept secret.”

“It’s a phenomenal story for some phenomenal people… what they’ve done and brought their cuisine and their way of life to western Sydney,” Houldin said.
“Then we can take it to more places in Sydney and Melbourne and stay true to the values ​​we’ve always had and show that to the rest of Australia.”
The story of Lebanese cuisine in Sydney has evolved over several chapters.
Lebanese immigrants who arrived in the mid-19th century had to hide their spices so as not to attract the attention of the cultural majority.
But by the time migrants escaping the Lebanese civil war between 1975 and 1990 arrived, Australia began to embrace multiculturalism.

“The Lebanese charcoal chicken, the garlic sauce, the pickles… all these great products are now an important part of many Australians’ diets,” Houldin said.

“We do it fresher, we do it easier, and we do it in a great, cost-effective way, which is really about sharing and abundance, and I think that’s what Lebanese culture really brings to Australia.”
In 2019, the Estephans stepped back from the daily management of the restaurant. In the past three years, the company opened its first stores outside Sydney, in Melbourne and Canberra.
The restaurant has said the founding family will remain closely involved with a new partnership with General Atlantic.
“They are over the moon,” Houldin said.
“They are extremely proud of all our team members, our franchisees and the rest of the company who have led us to this point, but they are equally excited about the future.
“We will never lose sight of what makes us who we are. And we want to ensure that those in our local communities and those operating in Australia are our first and foremost priority.”

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