Hamada Atmana, 33, has turned his Chentro burger brand into a small cross-border chain over the past four years. He opened the first branch in his hometown of Kafr Qara, expanded to Hadera a year ago, and then opened a Dubai location about six months ago, in the upscale Jumeirah district.
Atmana said repeated trips to Dubai convinced him the local burger scene was weaker than what he offers in Israel. He described bringing burgers and brioche buns in his luggage for a barbecue with local friends, who were impressed enough to urge him to open there. “I saw the level and said, ours is better,” he said, adding that Dubai had “no place at the level we have in Israel.”
The Dubai branch required him to rethink recipes because ingredients there tasted different even when sold under the same brand. He said Chentro stands out because it offers more current, distinctive options than the smash-burger formula common in Dubai. His menu includes brioche buns with garlic, corn or spicy chili crusts, burgers drenched in cheddar, mushroom cream or truffle pepper cream, plus Angus burgers with truffle aioli and a truffle bun with truffle-mushroom crust.
Atmana, who has cooked since age 16 and previously worked in his father’s family catering business, says his goal was to create upgraded street food. A meal costs 89 shekels, including fries. He says Hadera proved there is demand from customers traveling from Tel Aviv, Rishon LeZion and across Israel, which is why he chose it as a midpoint between the north and center. Next month he plans to open a kosher burger place in Hadera, then a branch in Bir al-Maksur, and after that he wants to enter central Tel Aviv. He said the war hit Dubai hard, with business down sharply as residents left, though lower labor costs and no taxes soften the impact there.
