How A Family Chain Outsmarted Inflation

Tahini’s Restaurants, a Canadian fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine, made a strategic decision to integrate bitcoin into its business operations in 2020. This move has proven to be a game-changer for the company, with Bitcoin now accounting for over 70% of their reserves and playing a crucial role in their rapid expansion to 62 restaurants across the country in just over a decade.

Founded by brothers Omar and Aly Hamam in 2012, Tahini’s started with just one restaurant in London, Ontario. The adoption of an early bitcoin treasury strategy, inspired in part by Michael Saylor in 2020, provided the company with a competitive edge in the fast-casual food industry. “We just kept putting more and more money into bitcoin,” said CEO Omar Hamam, highlighting the significant impact of this decision on their financial stability and growth.

With giants like McDonald’s and Chipotle in the industry, the company needed a strategy to level the playing field. By incorporating Bitcoin into their financial reserves, Tahini’s was able to build a treasury and balance sheet that ensured long-term financial stability and wealth preservation. This move has been hailed as the best decision the company has made for its business.

Alongside their bitcoin treasury strategy, Tahini’s has implemented various innovative approaches to drive growth. This includes deploying Bitcoin ATMs at many of their franchises and adopting a new media strategy that has garnered them billions of views across social media platforms. Aly Hamam, driven by personal experiences with currency devaluation in Egypt, played a pivotal role in pushing for the adoption of bitcoin within the company.

During the market crash in March 2020, Aly’s interest in bitcoin was piqued, leading to a deep dive into understanding and investing in the digital asset. The subsequent market volatility and government response to the COVID-19 pandemic further reinforced the need for a hedge against inflation, prompting Tahini’s to prioritize bitcoin as a key part of their financial strategy.

As a private company, Tahini’s approach to bitcoin investment differs from publicly traded companies. They have adopted a dollar-cost averaging strategy, making monthly purchases of bitcoin to build their reserves. This method has proven effective, with Bitcoin now representing a significant portion of their total reserves.

While challenges remain in accepting bitcoin payments at their restaurants due to limitations in existing POS systems, Tahini’s has found a workaround by installing Bitcoin ATMs at select locations. These machines have generated steady profits in bitcoin, contributing to the overall growth of the company.

Looking ahead, Tahini’s remains optimistic about the future of bitcoin payments and the broader adoption of cryptocurrency in the business world. As interest in bitcoin continues to grow, the company believes that barriers to acceptance will eventually fall, paving the way for a more seamless integration of digital assets into their operations.

Overall, Tahini’s success story serves as a testament to the transformative power of bitcoin in revolutionizing traditional business models and driving financial innovation in the fast-casual dining sector.