Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Kaiser & Mike Youssef .
Hi Sam Kaiser & Mike Youssef, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
We started our ghost kitchen concept in March of 2021 after being furloughed from our jobs at the Hilton Anatole. Mike was the Executive Banquet Chef and Sam was the Senior Food & Beverage Manager. We both had several years experience in the hospitality industry, but when COVID hit and we lost our jobs we decided to start our own restaurant. At first it was a cheesesteak concept called Furlough Brothers Cheesesteaks. At this point, we were the only ones working in the kitchen and knew we couldn’t be eating cheesesteaks for every meal, every day. We started bringing rice to the kitchen and making bowls with the meats from the sandwiches. This developed into our concept Packin’ Bowls which took off and put the cheesesteaks on the back burner. We continued to grow the concept and our team and in October of 2025 we decided to move out of the ghost kitchen and into our own brick and mortar restaurant in the Sylvan 30 shopping center in Oak Cliff!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The entrepreneurial journey is never a smooth one. The first couple years were challenging as we learned how to gain awareness, build our team, manage the cash flow, and understand when to expand. The most challenging aspects of the first 4 years were our attempts to expand when we were not ready, in locations that were not right. We had seen some success at the original ghost kitchen in comparison to several concepts that had come and gone quickly in the facility. This gave us a false sense of being ready to open a second kitchen. We thought it was just a plug and play, but the locations were not correct and having our first kitchen completely support a second one was extremely challenging. We were ultimately able to consolidate back to our orignal ghost kitchen and get back to focusing on growing the concept, saving money, and putting ourselves in a position to expand properly by finding a brick and mortar in the right location.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Packin’ Bowls?
Packin’ Bowls is a fast casual protein bowl restaurant in Oak Cliff, Dallas. We specialize in multi-cuisine protein bowl options that can be customized in a multitude of ways. Our goal is to be able to accommodate anyone who walks into the restaurant. Whether you need high calorie, high protein meal post-workout or a lighter keto-friendly salad, we are here for you. Our customizability and multi-cuisine offerings are what set us apart from the other salad/rice bowl concepts. Most rice bowl concepts stick to one cuisine (Asian, Mediterranean, Mexican). We incorporate all of those and more, while keeping a condensed menu that we can execute consistently so our guests always have the same positive and delicious experience. Our Chef and Co-Founder, Mike is originally from Egypt and has over two decades experience in kitchens all over the US. He has incorporated family recipes along with other ideas built over his career into a well rounded menu that hits every time.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Only half of the founders of Packin’ Bowls can actually cook! I (Sam) have definitely learned a lot over the last 5 years, but cooking is not my specialty. I prefer to stick to talking to our guests, making spreadsheets, and managing the bank account.
Pricing:
- Because we have two different size options, 8 protein options, and dozens of toppings our bowls can range from $8.99-$23
- Most popular bowls range from $12-$18
Contact Info:
- Website: https://packin-bowls.com/
- Instagram: @_packinbowls
- Facebook: Packin’ Bowls
