Musab Harara (L) and Abdullah Islam (R) are on a mission to make Bubba’s BBQ the next late-night sensation. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Some businesses open with a soft launch, or try to ease themselves into the market quietly until they find their feet. But Bubba’s BBQ is planning to open with a big community event, and maybe even a world record.
Musab Harara and Abdullah Islam met at mosque, and quickly became friends, but it wasn’t until fasting during Ramadan earlier this year that they started dreaming about opening a food truck together. Their group of friends love to hang out until the wee small hours, and often found themselves wishing there was something to eat after midnight.
Musab has hospitality and food truck experience—he previously had a small truck serving food for events at his mosque—and Abdullah has a background in social media and marketing. Together, they decided they had the skills to tackle this challenge.
“We decided we needed some content, and for our second video, we just did something in the Bunnings carpark and it got thousands of likes!” Abdullah told Region.
“It became clear that Canberra really wanted a late-night food truck!”
What followed was months of careful planning, recipe testing and plenty of social media antics.
Musab is Palestinian and grew up in America before settling in Canberra, which is reflected in the menu. Nashville fried chicken burgers pay homage to his time in the States, while spiced kebab skewers show off his heritage.
“They’re actually my Mum’s recipe, but it took me a while to get them right. You know how mums will just put in a bit of this and a bit of that, and it turns out perfect. So I had to get the right amounts of each spice and then scale it up to kilos.”
“The recipe is a secret, though,” said Abdullah. “There’s like 15 different spices!’
One secret they can share is that their skewers are brushed with their “liquid gold” chilli oil throughout the cooking process for maximum flavour. They also make all their own pickles, and are hoping to expand the menu to include other barbecue dishes from around the world.
The food is cooked over charcoal, uses beef tallow instead of seed oils and is totally halal friendly.
Bubba’s BBQ will serve food up to 1 am. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
For their grand opening next week, the pair are hoping to create some buzz by setting the world record for the most customers served at a food truck opening. They’ve given themselves 72 hours to set the record – from Friday 24 October to early in the morning of Monday 27 October – and are hoping to create a festival atmosphere with face painting for kids, pop-up stalls from local businesses and a line-up of exotic cars.
They’re looking forward to feeding late-night revellers, shift workers, families and “anyone with a stomach!”
And the pair of cofounders are ambitious too: they’re hoping that their Canberra food truck will become an Australia-wide sensation.
“Our ideology is that Kentucky has KFC: we want Canberra to be known for Bubba’s BBQ!”
Bubba’s BBQ Grand Opening Weekend will run from 4 pm on 24 October to 1 am on 27 October. Their regular opening hours will be 6 pm to 1 am Thursday to Sunday, and they’re also planning to be open for the local lunch crowd.
Bubba’s BBQ is parked at 2 Callan St, Mitchell, tucked behind BlocHaus. Follow them on Facebook or Instagram.
