Halal restaurant featuring Pakistani, Indian cuisine coming to Palatine

A restaurant serving Indian and Pakistani food, as well as hamburgers and fries, will open a Palatine outpost in a former bagel joint at Northwest Highway and Quentin Road.

Makki Fast Food & Grill will move into the Quentin Corners shopping center. Makki is halal, meaning meat must be prepared and animals slaughtered according to Islamic law.

Palatine council members Monday night approved a special-use permit Makki needed to move into the 1,744-square-foot space at Quentin Corners. Makki will replace The Great American Bagel.

Westmont-based The Great American Bagel opened its first Midwest franchise in Palatine in 1995. The store closed at least six years ago.

For Hawthorn Woods resident Khadija Nisar, the Palatine location will be her second Makki Fast Food & Grill. The original is on Kimball Avenue in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood.

Nisar said she plans to have some Mexican cuisine in the menu with Pakistani, Indian and American offerings. She said she's familiar with Palatine, having previously lived near Northwest Highway and Quentin, and that a halal restaurant will fill a need in town.

“I know that there is no other restaurant like this,” Nisar said outside the council meeting room.

On Makki's menu is nehari, a complex Indian and Pakistani stew typically made with beef and plenty of spices including red pepper, mace, clove and turmeric. Makki also has beef, chicken or vegetable biryani, a mixed-rise dish popular in India.

In addition, Makki has fast-foot basics such as cheeseburgers, chicken tenders and fries. Plans call for the eatery to be open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, with seating for up to 25 patrons.

“I will add on more things on the menu now,” said Nisar, who hopes to open early next year.

Palatine has been attracting new ethnic eateries.

One of the most recent to open was Takumi Japanese Homemade Curry at 3 E. Northwest Highway. Hitting the dining scene with traditional Chinese food about six months ago was The Dream Place at 1280 E. Dundee Road.