After twelve years of flipping burgers and feeding a generation of Saudis, Hamburgini has officially shut its doors. The closure wasn’t a quiet one, it came with a bang, courtesy of a Riyadh court ruling that ordered the liquidation of its parent firm, Food Basics Trading. That decision came down on 27 August 2025, following months of speculation and a year of ugly headlines. The trigger? A food poisoning case in 2024 that turned into a national scandal.
Hamburgini’s Fall: From Saudi Burger Darling To Court-Ordered Liquidation
The ruling, issued by the Ninth Circuit of the Riyadh Commercial Court, opened full liquidation proceedings. Mubarak bin Eid Al-Anzi was appointed as bankruptcy trustee, giving creditors 90 days to submit claims. In practice, this means the company, once buzzing with expansion plans, is now in the hands of lawyers and accountants. It’s a textbook application of Saudi Arabia’s Bankruptcy Law, a system designed to tidy up distressed firms while protecting creditor rights. Still, the cold language of liquidation feels a world away from the warmth of Hamburgini’s burger grills.
From Meteoric Rise To Sudden Halt
Back in 2013, Hamburgini was the underdog success story everyone in Riyadh was talking about. Hamburgini’s formula wasn’t complicated. Fresh food at prices people could actually afford, nothing fancy, no gimmicks. Just burgers smashed right on the grill, proper chicken tenderloins, and even lettuce wraps back when that still felt new. Add in sweet potato fries and buns baked fresh every day, and it’s no wonder the brand struck a chord with young Saudis straight away.
By 2020, Hamburgini had turned into a local empire. With 57 branches across the Kingdom, it proudly claimed the title of Saudi Arabia’s largest homegrown burger chain. Its growth was fuelled by slick digital marketing, savvy social media campaigns, and bold leadership under CEO Nawaf Al-Fawzan. At one point, he even revealed plans to list a fifth of the company’s capital on the Nomu Parallel Market and expand with 20 more outlets. Those were heady days, the kind where a burger joint starts looking more like a corporate heavyweight.
But, as history often reminds us, momentum can disappear overnight.
The Poisoning Scandal That Changed Everything
In 2024, Hamburgini’s story took a dark turn. A mass food poisoning outbreak at one of its Riyadh branches left over 70 people ill and tragically claimed one life. The culprit? Clostridium botulinum bacteria found in Bon Temps mayonnaise, an imported product used in its kitchens. Officially, Hamburgini wasn’t the direct source, the supplier was but public perception rarely cares about the fine print.
Trust evaporated almost overnight. Customers stopped showing up. Sales nosedived. To be fair, any restaurant hit by a crisis of that scale would struggle, but Hamburgini’s fall was especially brutal because its whole identity was built on freshness and reliability. Suddenly, that promise looked hollow.
The chain closed branches, debts piled up, and creditors circled. By mid-2025, the writing was on the wall. Hamburgini wasn’t just struggling; it was finished.
Also Read: Dubai’s Famous Burger Brand, Pickl To Debut In Saudi Arabia With Its First Outlet In Riyadh!
The Final Chapter
The August liquidation order made official what many already knew: Hamburgini had no way back. For fans, it’s a bitter pill. For business watchers, it’s a case study in how one slip, however unlucky, can undo years of careful growth.
And let’s face it, the story also underlines a truth people in F&B quietly admit: reputations are fragile. One bad month can outweigh a decade of goodwill.
Hamburgini’s journey is over, but its rise and collapse will stick around as a lesson. After all, in a Kingdom hungry for local success stories, this one showed how quickly the dream can sour.
Cover Image Courtesy: Hamburgini/LinkedIn
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