Staten Island has always been a borough of communities - tight-knit neighborhoods where people know their neighbors, support local businesses, and build something together. In recent years, one of the most dynamic threads in that fabric has been the growth of Muslim-owned businesses across the island. From halal restaurants and grocery stores to professional services and retail shops, Muslim entrepreneurs are playing an increasingly visible role in Staten Island's economy and daily life.
This is not a story about a single business or a single neighborhood. It is about a community that has been steadily building, investing, and contributing to the borough they call home.
The Muslim Community on Staten Island
Staten Island's Muslim community has grown significantly over the past two decades. While the borough has always had some Muslim residents, the community has expanded through immigration from South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, West Africa, and the Balkans, as well as through converts and natural population growth.
According to demographic estimates, the Muslim population on Staten Island now numbers in the tens of thousands, spread across the island but concentrated in several key areas. The North Shore - particularly neighborhoods like West Brighton, Port Richmond, Mariners Harbor, and Tompkinsville - has the largest concentration, reflecting the area's broader diversity and more affordable housing. The South Shore has also seen growth, especially in neighborhoods like Eltingville, Great Kills, and Tottenville, as families have moved out from the more congested parts of the city looking for space, good schools, and a quieter pace of life.
This growing population has created both demand and opportunity. Muslim families need halal food, Islamic education, places to pray, and products and services that align with their values. At the same time, Muslim entrepreneurs have identified opportunities to serve not just their own community but the broader Staten Island population with businesses that are competitive, welcoming, and well-run.
Mosques and Community Centers as Anchors
Every vibrant business community needs gathering places, and for Muslims on Staten Island, mosques and Islamic centers serve that role. The island is home to multiple mosques and prayer spaces, including the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center in Tompkinsville - one of the most established Islamic institutions in the borough - and several smaller community mosques in the North Shore and South Shore neighborhoods.
These institutions are more than places of worship. They are community hubs where networking happens, where new residents get connected with resources, where young people learn, and where business relationships often begin. A significant number of Muslim-owned businesses on Staten Island got their start through connections made at a local mosque or community event.
The Business Landscape
Muslim-owned businesses on Staten Island span a wide range of industries. While halal food is the most visible category, the full picture is much broader.
Halal Restaurants and Food Businesses
The halal food scene on Staten Island is thriving, and it is the most public-facing part of the Muslim business community. Halal restaurants line major corridors like Hylan Boulevard, Richmond Avenue, Forest Avenue, and Victory Boulevard. The variety has grown dramatically - from traditional Middle Eastern and South Asian restaurants to innovative concepts that fuse halal standards with American, Latin, and other global cuisines.
Yala is one example of what this new wave of halal food entrepreneurship looks like. We are a Muslim-owned, 100% nonprofit halal restaurant serving American comfort food at three locations across Staten Island - in Eltingville at 3271 Richmond Ave, on Hylan Blvd at 1898 Hylan Blvd, and in West Brighton at 708 Castleton Ave. What makes Yala's model unique is that it operates under the Umma Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to humanitarian work. Every meal served funds the Trucks of Hope initiative, which delivers food and essential services to homeless and underserved communities across New York City.
But Yala is just one part of a much larger picture. Along Hylan Boulevard alone, you will find halal restaurants serving Yemeni mandi, Pakistani biryani, Egyptian koshari, Turkish kebabs, and more. The North Shore has its own constellation of halal spots, many of them family-run operations that have been quietly serving the community for years without much social media fanfare.
The food truck and cart scene has also picked up. Muslim-owned food trucks now operate in various parts of the island, and several halal food vendors have become fixtures at local events and markets.
Halal Grocery and Specialty Stores
Supporting the restaurant scene is a network of halal grocery stores and butcher shops. These businesses provide halal-certified meat, specialty ingredients, imported goods, and prepared foods to both home cooks and restaurant operators. You will find them in concentrated numbers along Victory Boulevard, Forest Avenue, and in the Tompkinsville and Port Richmond areas.
These stores serve a crucial role in the community. For many Muslim families, especially those from immigrant backgrounds, they are more than grocery stores - they are cultural touchpoints where you can find ingredients from home, hear familiar languages, and stay connected to food traditions that are central to daily life and celebration.
Professional Services
Beyond food, Muslim entrepreneurs on Staten Island operate in a wide range of professional services. Accounting firms, law offices, medical practices, dental clinics, real estate agencies, insurance brokerages, and IT consulting firms run by Muslim professionals serve clients across all backgrounds on the island.
Many of these professionals are first-generation or second-generation immigrants who pursued higher education in the U.S. and chose to set up practice on Staten Island rather than in Manhattan or Brooklyn, drawn by the borough's lower overhead costs and the opportunity to serve their growing local community.
Retail and Personal Services
Muslim-owned retail businesses on Staten Island include clothing stores (including modest fashion retailers), electronics shops, auto repair garages, beauty salons, barbershops, and cell phone stores. Some of these businesses cluster along commercial corridors like Forest Avenue and Victory Boulevard, while others are scattered across neighborhood shopping strips throughout the island.
The modest fashion segment is worth noting specifically. As the Muslim population has grown, so has demand for clothing that meets modesty preferences while also being stylish and modern. Several Staten Island retailers have filled this niche, offering options for women, men, and children that you would previously have had to shop for online or travel to Brooklyn to find.
Real Estate and Construction
Muslim-owned real estate and construction businesses have become significant players in the Staten Island market. Real estate agents and brokers who speak Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Turkish, and Albanian help immigrant families navigate the home-buying process, while construction and renovation companies run by Muslim entrepreneurs build and upgrade homes and commercial properties across the island.
This sector has a multiplier effect on the community. When a Muslim-owned construction company builds out a new restaurant space for a Muslim-owned food business, the economic activity stays within the community and strengthens local ties.
Why Staten Island?
A natural question is why Staten Island has become such a hub for Muslim-owned business activity. Several factors are at play.
Affordability Compared to Other Boroughs
Commercial rents on Staten Island are significantly lower than in Manhattan, Brooklyn, or even parts of Queens. For first-time business owners and entrepreneurs with limited capital, this lower barrier to entry makes Staten Island an attractive place to start a business. You can open a restaurant, retail shop, or office on Staten Island for a fraction of what it would cost in other parts of NYC, which translates to lower risk and a better chance of survival in those critical first few years.
Space and Quality of Life
For business owners who also want to raise families nearby, Staten Island offers what the other boroughs often cannot - houses with yards, relatively uncrowded streets, parks, and a suburban feel within the five boroughs. Many Muslim entrepreneurs live and work on the island, which means their investment in their businesses is also an investment in the community where they are raising their children.
A Community That Supports Its Own
The Muslim community on Staten Island, while diverse in ethnicity and national origin, tends to be supportive of businesses run by community members. Word-of-mouth referrals through mosques, community groups, and social networks drive significant business to Muslim-owned establishments. This built-in customer base gives new businesses a foundation to build on, even before they attract customers from the broader population.
Growing Demand
As the Muslim population on Staten Island continues to grow, so does the demand for halal products and services that align with Islamic values. This demand creates opportunity. Every new family that moves to the island is a potential customer for halal restaurants, grocery stores, Islamic schools, and a range of other businesses and services.
Challenges Facing Muslim-Owned Businesses
It would not be honest to paint only a rosy picture. Muslim-owned businesses on Staten Island face real challenges.
Navigating Permits and Regulations
Starting a business in New York City means dealing with a complex web of permits, licenses, inspections, and regulations. For immigrant entrepreneurs, especially those whose English may be limited, navigating this system can be daunting. While organizations and community leaders have stepped in to provide guidance and support, the regulatory burden remains a significant hurdle for many aspiring business owners.
Misconceptions and Bias
Despite the growing visibility and success of Muslim-owned businesses, misconceptions and occasional bias remain facts of life. Some business owners report subtle challenges - difficulty securing commercial leases in certain areas, skepticism from vendors, or negative online reviews that seem motivated by bias rather than legitimate complaints. These are not everyday occurrences, but they are real, and they add an extra layer of difficulty to an already challenging endeavor.
Competition
Success breeds competition, and some sectors - particularly halal food - have become crowded. In neighborhoods with high concentrations of halal restaurants, businesses must differentiate themselves on quality, price, concept, or service to survive. This competition is ultimately good for consumers, but it puts pressure on business owners, especially newer ones.
Keeping Up with Changing Tastes
The younger generation of Muslim consumers on Staten Island is different from their parents. They grew up American. They want halal food, but they also want it in familiar, contemporary formats - smash burgers, loaded fries, boba tea, aesthetic cafe vibes, social media-worthy presentations. Businesses that cater only to traditional tastes risk missing the fastest-growing segment of their market. The most successful Muslim-owned food businesses on Staten Island are the ones that bridge the traditional and the modern.
This is something we think about constantly at Yala. Our menu is built around that bridge - halal American comfort food that appeals to everyone, whether you grew up eating mandi or mac and cheese.
Community Impact Beyond Business
The impact of Muslim-owned businesses on Staten Island extends well beyond economics. These businesses contribute to the social fabric of the borough in ways that are not always measured in dollars.
Charitable Giving and Community Service
Islamic values place a strong emphasis on charity (zakat and sadaqah), and this shows up in how many Muslim-owned businesses operate. Donations to local causes, sponsorship of community events, feeding the homeless, supporting Islamic education - these activities are common among Muslim business owners on the island.
Yala takes this to the structural level. As a nonprofit restaurant, charitable giving is not something we do on the side - it is the entire point. All profit from our operations goes to humanitarian work through the Umma Foundation. But we are far from the only Muslim-owned business on Staten Island that prioritizes giving back. Many do it quietly, without press releases or social media posts, as a matter of personal faith and community obligation.
Cultural Exchange
Muslim-owned businesses create spaces where cultural exchange happens naturally. When a non-Muslim neighbor walks into a halal restaurant for the first time, or when a Muslim business owner employs workers from different backgrounds, or when a community event brings people together around food and shared interests - those are moments of bridge-building that strengthen the entire community.
Staten Island is one of the most politically and culturally diverse boroughs in NYC, and that diversity can be a source of tension or a source of strength. Muslim-owned businesses, by being present, visible, and welcoming, contribute to making it a source of strength.
Employment
Muslim-owned businesses on Staten Island employ hundreds, possibly thousands, of people across the borough. And those employees are not all Muslim - they include people from every background who live and work on the island. These are jobs that keep money circulating in the local economy, provide income for families, and give young people work experience and skills.
Supporting Muslim-Owned Businesses on Staten Island
If you want to support the Muslim-owned business community on Staten Island, it is straightforward:
Eat the food. Try a new halal restaurant. Walk into a spot you have never been to and ask the owner what they recommend. If you like it, tell your friends and leave a review. Word of mouth is the lifeblood of small businesses.
Shop local. Before ordering something online, check if a local Muslim-owned business carries what you need. Grocery stores, clothing shops, auto services, electronics - there is probably a local option.
Hire local. If you need a contractor, an accountant, a lawyer, or any professional service, consider a Muslim-owned firm on the island. The quality is there, the prices are competitive, and you are keeping money in the community.
Attend community events. Muslim-organized events on Staten Island - food festivals, charity drives, Eid celebrations, open houses at mosques - are usually open to all. Showing up is the simplest and most meaningful form of support.
Order catering. If you are planning an event, office lunch, or party, halal catering is a great option. The food is delicious, the portions are generous, and you might discover a new favorite restaurant in the process.
Looking Forward
The trajectory of Muslim-owned businesses on Staten Island is clearly upward. The community is growing, the entrepreneurial energy is strong, the next generation is ambitious and connected, and the demand for halal products and services shows no signs of slowing.
What is most exciting is the diversity within the community itself. Staten Island's Muslim population is not monolithic - it includes people from dozens of countries, speaking dozens of languages, bringing dozens of culinary traditions, business philosophies, and cultural perspectives. That diversity within diversity is what makes the business community so dynamic and so interesting.
As Muslim-owned businesses continue to grow and thrive on Staten Island, they are not just building livelihoods - they are building a community. And that community is an integral, valuable, and increasingly visible part of what makes Staten Island the borough it is.
If you are on the island and looking for a place to start experiencing what this community has to offer, stop by Yala. Grab a plate, sit down, and be part of it. And when you are ready, explore our mission to see how a simple meal can make a real difference.