This New Sandwich Hub is Splitting it up in New Giza

"It's a simple story, really, I'm a sandwich guy, I'm always looking for sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and even dinner," Ahmed Hanafi, CEO of Community Restaurants, the parent company behind Egypt's premier burger destination, BRGR, and now their latest venture, SPLIT, shares with SceneEats. Launched earlier in May, Split is New Giza's newest sandwich hub, serving succulent ciabatta buns filled with savory concoctions meticulously split in two.

We know you’re probably getting hungry, so here’s the breakdown. Quality - not quantity - reigns supreme at Split, with a concise yet specialized menu focusing on both hot and cold sandwiches. Classics like caprese, turkey pesto, and roast beef are joined by indulgent options like Split’s signature pane deluxe, honey sriracha chicken, chicken parm, philly steak, and braised beef jam, all made with locally sourced ingredients cured in-house for maximum freshness.

Complementing the sandwiches, Split also offers classic, traditionally loaded, and braised-beef loaded fries, all washable down with one of Split’s signature lemonade shakers or mojitos. As Hanafi tells SceneEats, “We decided to start off with a small menu that had no place for filler options; nothing is there just for the sake of being there, every available option serves its own purpose.”

While we wouldn’t necessarily call the story behind Split’s inception ‘simple’, we certainly agree that serendipity - and good fortune - played a role. A self-proclaimed sandwich lover, Hanafi quickly noticed a gap in the sandwich market: “I just couldn’t find sandwiches that really hit the mark, the ones that I really wanted to see,” he confesses. So, armed with his entrepreneurial spirit, unwavering love for sandwiches, and established presence in the Egyptian F&B industry, Hanafi decided to take matters into his own hands - literally.

As his idea began to take shape, Hanafi’s social media algorithm chimed in, showing him reels and TikToks of chefs crafting and cutting up sandwiches. When he stumbled upon a certain viral Egyptian chef, Mohammed Arafa, slicing sandwiches in two, taking a bite, and whispering ‘grandísimo’, his vision crystallized.

“It all just clicked, I reached out immediately,” and the rest, as they say, is history. With Chef Arafa at the helm, Hanafi and their team got to work. “Everything fell into place, like it was meant to be,” Hanafi shares. From concept to launch, Split came to life in just 90 days. “We went in guns blazing,” Hanafi emphasizes.

With visions aligned and taste buds primed, the team settled on a fiery orange for Split’s brand and incorporated Chef Arafa’s catchphrase and chef’s kiss on the packaging.

Now operating in New Giza’s ‘The Gardens’, Hanafi plans to open two more branches in Cairo by year-end, with ambitious plans for the future. And if you’re looking for a personal recommendation - though Hanafi suggests trying everything on the menu - his favorites are the philly steak sandwich and the roast beef, if you’re an early riser.

If BRGR’s success is any indication, we'll be seeing a lot more of Split soon. So, are you hungry? Because we sure are…