So my wife’s friend recently found out that Elevation Burger uses Halal meat via this link which was an interview with the owner discussing expanding the business in Kuwait:
Ansam: Tell me about the “Halal” meat you serve at Elevation Burger in Kuwait? How did you manage to make this possible?
Hans: Well, we’re very fortunate because when we first started the slaughter houses we happen to be working with were Halal. So basically what happen was we kept working with them (because in the United States it doesn’t really matter how the cow meat is prepared) because we liked how those slaughter houses did business, and they’re very clean – basically really good slaughter houses and we kept on with that and it’s been Halal ever since and it stayed that way. When Ali approached us few years ago… I dont know how long it’s been?
Ali: Yeah… that was one of the concerns
Hans: When we first went into business together I was able to say to him that it is not an issue, its Halal!
A few things jumped out at me when reading this. They’ve been doing business with Halal meat for a while. It’s not advertised on their site nor is it on Zabihah.com (the most popular website that displays Halal restaurants). The owner, Hans, mentions that the Halal meat slaughter house is clean.
What’s even more interesting is that Elevation Burger uses organic, free-range, grass fed meat. It’s not just Halal, but “tayyib” (wholesome, healthy, clean, pure, organic, etc.) meat.
I had to verify this, so I messaged the Elevation Burger Facebook page and they replied with this:
Looks like I’ll be checking this place out, inshaAllah!
Updates:
The twitter account for EB Hyattsville, MD retweeted this post. I guess that means they confirm? 
RT @ItsHibs: attention DMV!! RT @ibnpercy Is Elevation Burger Halal? Yes it is! ibnpercy.com/is-elevation-b …
— Elevation Burger(@EBHYATTSVILLE) July 10, 2012
Someone else asked on Facebook about all US locations if it was halal and the answer was yes:
More updates:
Yep! All of our locations serve Halal meat! RT @ibnabeeomar: @EBHYATTSVILLE @ItsHibs @ibnpercy any word on if all locations are halal?
— Elevation Burger(@EBHYATTSVILLE) July 10, 2012
It’s machine slaughtered not hand slaughtered:
CORRECTION: They use hand slaughtered meat. An Elevation Burger representative emailed me and said:
I would like to let you know that that was a misstatement on our part and that error is being corrected. Our meat is hand slaughtered.
I apologize for this miscommunication of information.
Our meat production centers are certified by local Muslim organizations. Our meat is slaughtered by Muslims according to Islamic law, teaching and protocol. The meat of the animals is therefore certified halal and suitable for consumption by Muslims in any part of the world. All necessary precautions have been taken to prevent mixing with non-Halal meat. Our meat is sourced from more than 30 family farms from all over who slaughter their cattle according to Muslim law in accordance with halal practices.
Could I ask that you update your post so that the correct information is now available?
So there you have it!
Jul 09, 2012 @ 15:12:07
I hope you end up enjoying it as much as I do – LOVE it
Jul 09, 2012 @ 15:21:53
You are the man for this post!
Jul 09, 2012 @ 16:40:38
“Woohoo!!! We’ve been passing by that place way too many times… and it came across our minds “if their meat halal?” but since it’s not on Zabihah.com and there’s no ‘halal’ sign, we assumed that it’s not halal. Allah bless you, Ibn Percy! I guess burger for dinner, David!”
Jul 09, 2012 @ 16:52:29
Before I get too excited, is this in reference to the meat in Kuwait only?
Jul 09, 2012 @ 17:09:20
According to the owner, he’s been working with Halal Meat since the beginning. They started in America. I asked them if specific locations have halal meat or all of them. Awaiting their response.
Jul 09, 2012 @ 17:58:45
JAK, look forward to the update.
Jul 10, 2012 @ 08:55:55
My friend called the one in Tyson’s Corner, VA and spoke to the owner who said it’s halal.
Also “sidi” just confirmed in a comment below as well.
I am still awaiting response from elevation burger though.
Jul 09, 2012 @ 22:05:36
Call to specific locations in Virginia yield that all their beef is halal.
Jul 10, 2012 @ 17:48:23
Just called their location in National Harbor in MD and they said they purchase all of their beef from Australia (but they had no idea if their meat is halal)…
Jul 11, 2012 @ 12:10:06
All of their meat comes from the same supplier which is certified Halal! Awesome!! I’ve been following the @EBHyattsville location on Twitter and their Facebook and it seems they do deals pretty often so make sure to keep an eye out!
Jul 11, 2012 @ 16:12:54
Machine slaughtered meat isn’t halal according to the more precautionary (and better) view. And their bacon is not halal. So caution would dictate avoiding it.
Jul 11, 2012 @ 18:36:33
“It’s machine slaughtered not hand slaughtered” That’s NOT Halal.
Jul 11, 2012 @ 19:39:29
There is difference of opinion on this. In the Muslim world, most of the meat is machine slaughtered for the franchise and large restaurants. In America most of the meat, I’ve heard estimates of upwards to 90% are machine slaughtered.
I’ll leave the question of whether it’s halal or not to the scholars on this.
It’s interesting though that if halal meat was only hand slaughtered there would be a lot less halal restaurants and places, since the demand is high. The solution is actually to eat less meat, which is a hard thing to do for an entire society to change.
I try my best to purchase and eat hand slaughtered halal meat at home. When eating out if they say it’s halal, I usually just trust them and honor their word. I’m not a person to ask too many questions. If they are not accurate in their halal authenticity then that is between them and Allah.
Again, hand slaughtered at least in America is not as common as machine slaughtered because of the demand unfortunately.
Jul 12, 2012 @ 11:20:45
Jazakumullahu khayran for posting this bro. Know of many outings, including in Nurayn, that were planned due to this elevation revelation.
P.S. On the hand-slaughtered/machine-slaughtered question, Sh. Yasir shared in Precious Provisions:
“What if the entire neck is cut off? (factories today do it this way)
Opinion #1: Minority: this makes the animal haram
Opinion #2: Jumhoor: it is makruh, but still halal.” [wAllahu 'alam]
Aug 05, 2012 @ 23:10:17
I can not believe that people are insisting that machine slaughtered meat is not Halal. To each, his own interpretation, but do you think God really intended people to go into this much detail over Halal versus Non-Halal? Halal was a protocol that was ordained by God to make meat clean, and during the time of the revelation of the Quran, machines did not exist then to comment on whether they could be used. In this case, I believe it is common sense to understand that machine slaughtered meat is considered halal in terms of cleanliness. You can interpret and understand what you want to, but God also talks about common sense.
In terms of three cuts, versus one cut in machine slaughtered meat, the one and only machine I’ve seen cuts the neck with three slices, so I actually haven’t even seen a machine that cuts off the neck in one go. They machines do it this way even for Non-Halal meat to minimize blood splatter.
Aug 06, 2012 @ 22:59:11
Please explain something to me:
(1) If whole foods and a dozen other super markets can display a halal symbol, whats stopping Elevation burger from doing so? If other chain restaurants can do it, why are they not doing it? There is no law or legal requirements against it.
(2) How are burgers that are being served along side bacon halal? Their staff not only does not claim to not change gloves between servings!!!
Their intentions may be well, but this is a completely miss executed strategy by folks who don’t understand what halal is. Go have a burger if you don’t care about bacon grease touching your burger. I do and i will not be eating there.
Aug 07, 2012 @ 10:18:24
I went to 2 different locations in the DC-MD-VA area and they didn’t sell any bacon. Only some locations have it. Elevation Burger is a franchise as well, which means there are franchise owners and then there are corporate owned ones. Franchises have some flexibility on what they can do. Also both locations wear gloves.
PS – Elevation Burger did not purposely use Halal meat to target Muslims thus they didn’t feel the need to have a sign or advertise it. There goal was to make a grass-fed, organic and healthier burger. It just happens that their meat supplier are Halal butchers. Elevation Burger contacted me and said they will be putting up Halal signs at locations now since this post drew a lot of hits and thus more customers for Elevation Burger.
Aug 08, 2012 @ 23:41:36
Subannahlah! Are they coming to NYC or the 5 boros anytime soon? Would love to try something different.
Nov 10, 2012 @ 16:04:17
@aziza, they have a branch in rye, in westchester county. don’t know about the 5 burroughs
Sep 17, 2012 @ 12:28:24
if its halal….why would a halal place serve bacon?
Sep 22, 2012 @ 08:48:50
Um question…if elevation burger is halal, why do they have pork on their menu? (The bacon topping.) Because, you know, whether or not it was islamicly slaughtered doesnt matter. Pork is Pork, and its haram either way. You may say that the pork could have been bought separately, but what if the pork is, i dun know, fried in the same oil as the halal beef? Or what if its cuts with the same knife as the pork was cut? That alone, would make it not-okay for muslims to eat, right?
Jan 14, 2013 @ 17:56:26
Y’all missing the point…..The businessmen wanted to sell quality grass fed meat, and they found that the slaughterhouses in VA that carried that kind of meat was Muslim run, and that they and killed the animals in the halal manner. So they made the burgers from this halal meat caused they liked the meat quality. They were not trying to aim to a Muslim market specifically, but now that they found out there is a great interest by Muslims, maybe they’ll advertise it as such. HOWEVER, halal meat or not, if bacon touches your meat, or it is handled with the same gloves, then buyer beware – you could accidentally eat haraam items. Most non-Muslim food handlers don’t understand the rule of keeping the meats separate. To them it’s just another burger.
Same as when you buy a veggie pizza from a non-halal vendor, always ask them to use a clean cutter to cut your pizza, or you will eventually end up with bits of bacon or pepperoni contaminating your veggie pizza. As Muslims, it is our duty to make sure what we eat is clean and halal. Not the restaurant workers, unless they specifically advertise as being halal establishment.
salaams,
Mar 28, 2013 @ 14:09:52
But, is it good? http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/06/new-to-nyc-burger-chains-the-counter-smashburger-go-burger-elevation-burger-review.html
Mar 28, 2013 @ 14:11:44
In the MD-VA-DC area it is really good. NYC is on another level for food choices, especially for halal food.