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Around four years ago, four roommates in one Atlanta apartment spent their days living on Chinese takeout, frozen pizzas, PB&J sandwiches, and a lot of smoothies. Despite the fact that the four boys were entirely different, with two being students, one a lawyer, and the other already working in the corporate world, the friends soon decided that it was time to try out cooking for themselves.

When they abruptly came to the realization that one of them had a special talent when it came to cooking delicious food, they encouraged him to think about auditioning for a cooking show. Instead, he decided that that was not enough. The friends decided to start their own restaurant, and on Eid 2013, their dream became a reality and UrbanTaali was finally born.

The team of four that now run UrbanTaali, Raza Momin, Ali Husain, Ali Raza Momin and Masum Momin, helped launched the food truck and restaurant while inspiring the hundreds in Atlanta with their spin on Halal food with American classics. To see the inspiration behind the halal food truck that got so big they opened their first brick-and-mortar store in Duluth just last October, AtlantaMuslim.com reached out to the team.

ATLANTAMUSLIM.COM: So how long did you run the food truck before you decided to open the restaurant?
UrbanTaali: We have had the food truck since Summer of 2013.

AM: What was your main motivator for opening up a brick-and-mortar location?
UT: From loyal customers to many requests of a permanent location, we are fortunate to progress and expand to a brick-and-mortar location. We want a place where our loyal customers can come enjoy our food with friends and family. We get many phone calls from customers asking where the truck is located today. We continue to offer signature dishes as well as new additions to our menu.

AM: What was the toughest challenge you faced in opening up the restaurant as opposed to the food truck?
UT: Since this is our first brick-and-mortar, there was a big learning curve in determining the proper steps to take in opening a store. Finding the right location and building a store was equally challenging. We have learned a lot through this process.

AM: Do you think it will be challenging to run both?
UT: We will continue to run our food truck business as usual. We will have a dedicated team for each, the store and the food truck, to help continue grow business.

While UrbanTaali serves many interesting traditional foods, influence by their name “Taali”, which translates to dishes or plates in Hindi, they also add extraordinary twists on American classics like burgers and Philly cheesesteaks. The team does it all; their food is fresh, they cater, and they can even bring their “restaurant on wheels” to any event near Atlanta. Their victory even landed them a feature on AtlantaMagazine.

To get a taste of the revolutionary UrbanTaali, visit them at their restaurant on 3099 Breckinridge Blvd Suite 209B, Duluth, GA 30096 or call them and reserve their food truck for your own party.

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