Halal Restaurant Week expands to Madison in September 2026

Halal Restaurant Week, the Milwaukee-based initiative now in its fourth year, is expanding to Madison this September. According to Madison365, the event will run Sept. 4–13 and marks the first time the program has operated outside Milwaukee.

Eat Halal Milwaukee, founded by Bushra Zaibak of Brookfield, launched Halal Restaurant Week in 2022 to create dining options for the area's growing Muslim community. During the week-long event, participating restaurants swap their chicken and beef for halal-certified alternatives and implement halal cooking practices, including excluding pork products and alcohol and preventing cross-contamination.

According to Madison365, Faatima Khan, who helped bring the initiative to Madison, said the goal is simple: "We want to eat what everyone else is eating." Khan noted that Madison is home to Wisconsin's second-largest Muslim population and is growing.

Madison365 reports that Food Fight, a restaurant group in Madison, has agreed to participate and will use three of its restaurants: Bassett Street Brunch Club, Everly, and HWY1. Zaibak and Khan hope to add more restaurants to the roster and are keeping participating venues near the campus area for accessibility.

According to the Wisconsin Muslim Journal, Milwaukee's 2026 Halal Restaurant Week (held June 5–14) featured 10 restaurants, including fine-dining establishments Odd Duck and Amilinda. The Journal reported that restaurants have found serving halal food to be good business, and that some have reported a 20 percent increase in sales after expanding to Muslim diners.