By LILLIAN GLAROS
PHOTO CREDIT Lillian Glaros
Just off of the University of Maryland (UMD) campus on the first floor of the Domain College Park apartment building, Legends Halal Grill serves halal food from a multitude of cultures.
Halal is an Arabic word meaning “permissible.” As it relates to food, that means meat comes from animals slaughtered and prepared according to the laws of Islam. In addition, halal dishes may not include alcohol, pork or other restricted products.
Halal food is a staple of the Muslim diet.
“The purpose is that there are not enough Halal restaurants for Muslim students,” Irshad Khan, the operator of the College Park franchise, said. “And not [only] Muslim, a lot of other nations also like halal.”
The best-selling meal at the year-old restaurant is a combo featuring rice with chicken and lamb. The menu also includes chicken nuggets, falafel and burgers, and offers other dishes, “which give you the flavor of a little bit Indian style, Pakistanis, Mediterranean,” Khan said.
The franchise is part of a two-restaurant chain, with a separate location in Windsor Mill in Baltimore County. Diners may eat in or carry out their food, or order with delivery apps, such as Grubhub, DoorDash or Uber Eats.
Khan, who is from Pakistan and lives in Pikesville, previously ran a Mexican-style halal restaurant, South Coast Tacos, in Baltimore. He also cooks for large groups at several Muslim community centers in Baltimore.
Khan worked in retail for years before becoming a restaurateur, a career he started after his son said he wanted to be an orthodontist when he grew up.
“I asked him, ‘Why?’” Khan said. “He said, ‘Three reasons.’ I said, ‘What’s the three reasons?’ He said, ‘Dad, first, they make the most money.’ So, OK, what’s the second reason? He said that they work Monday to Friday, nine to five. [I] said, ‘OK, what’s the third reason?’” He said, ‘Dad, they have a family life. They spend time with their family. You didn’t have time.’”
After Khan’s first restaurant closed during the pandemic, he opened his franchise in August 2023, a process that took two and a half years.
A year in, business is “pretty good,” Khan said, although he noted that construction, a road closure and a lack of students cut into summer sales.
With the start of the fall semester, some UMD students, like Nate White, a sophomore business major, are dining at the restaurant.
White and his friend Patrick Gaffman, a senior at Northwest High School in Germantown, agreed the food, which ranges from 99 cents for falafel to $13.99 for a meat-filled gyro with fries, is fairly priced and that portions are well-sized.
“It’s pretty good,” White said of the restaurant’s food.
Khan does more than serve halal food to College Park diners. He also supports orphaned youth in Pakistan.
He said he donates his tips, around $150 to $200 a month, to help Kafi Orphan Center, an orphanage for boys in Sindh province.
The center teaches the 8- to 15-year-old boys the Quran and skills like rug-making, which eventually can lead to jobs with the government’s ministry of religion, Khan said.
Khan said he donates because of his religious beliefs.
“I don’t know if I’m here today, if I’m not here tomorrow,” he said. “I have to think what’s going to happen when I leave this world.”
