$700
and a dream.
Mr. Hayek's is owned and run by Mohammad “Moe” Alhayek, who came to the United States from Jordan in 2017 and opened on Springfield Pike in Springdale in 2025.
A family-owned fish and chicken restaurant built on quality, flavor, and community. We're all about serving fresh, crispy meals made with care and tradition—no shortcuts, just real food done right. Whether you're dining in or grabbing something to go, we're here to bring you comfort food that hits the spot every time.
The road to Springfield Pike
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2017
Moe arrives in the United States from Jordan with $700 and one plan: open a restaurant. He takes any job he can get, washing dishes, cutting hair, shoveling snow.
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The kitchen years
He works his way up to cook, and saves. Everything he learned in other people's kitchens ends up in ours.
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2025
He finds a tired building at 11482 Springfield Pike in Springdale. It needs work, so he puts in the elbow grease himself.
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June 24, 2025
Days before the grand opening, the restaurant is broken into. TVs, lights, tablets, the alarm system and the kitchen sprinklers are smashed, and all five security cameras are cut. Around $35,000 in damage, and no insurance to cover it.
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July 2025
Springdale police investigate. Local 12 and WLWT tell the story, and it runs on TV stations from Charlotte to Omaha. Moe starts a GoFundMe, and the community shows up.
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Later in 2025
He rebuilds and opens the doors. Mr. Hayek's Fish & Chicken starts serving Springdale.
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Today
Open seven days a week for dine-in, carry-out and delivery. Same fryers, same family, same welcome.
“Coming to America, I have a big dream. I want to open a restaurant.”
How Cincinnati heard about us
Tri-State restaurant vandalized just before grand opening; owner moved to US with $700
Read the story →The break-in days before the grand opening, and Moe's plan to open anyway
Read the story →The WKRC report was picked up by Gray Television stations nationwide, including WBTV Charlotte, WOWT Omaha and WFSB Hartford
Read on WBTV →Real food. Real welcome.
Made to order
Nothing sits under a heat lamp. Your fish and chicken go in the fryer when you order, and come out when they're ready.
Fair prices
An $8.99 lunch, a $14.99 two-way combo, and family meals that feed the whole table. Good food shouldn't be a splurge.
Everyone's welcome
The sign behind our counter says “Hate Has No Home Here.” We mean it. Birthdays, funerals, church groups, ball teams, mosques, first responders: pull up a chair.
Part of Springdale
We live here, shop here and root for the same teams. When the neighborhood does well, so do we, and the other way around.
Come see us
11482 Springfield Pike, Springdale · Mon – Sat 10am – 11pm · Sun 11am – 9pm