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Food

Warriors Celebrate Muslim Heritage With a Night of Indo-Texan Halal Barbecue

Luke Tsai
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A tray of barbecue includes a dino beef rib, a slice of brisket, a sausage, and a cardboard try of fried rice.
A tray of Texas-style barbecue and Indonesian side dishes at Fikscue's Alameda restaurant. The barbecue spot's Thrive City location will supply meals for this year's Muslim Heritage Night at Chase Center, during the Warriors' game against the Knicks on Thursday, Jan. 15. (Marissa Leshnov for KQED)

Fik and Reka Saleh are no stranger to long lines and sold-out events. Fikscue, the couple’s Indonesian-Texan halal barbecue spot in Alameda, has drawn around-the-block crowds since its debut in 2023. Meanwhile, the restaurant’s new location in so-called Thrive City, the promenade just outside Chase Center, has introduced the Salehs’ unique combination of Texas-style smoked meats and Indonesian side dishes to an even wider audience.

This Thursday night’s Warriors home game against the Knicks will mark another milestone: It’ll be the first time halal-keeping fans can chow down on Fikscue’s brisket sandwiches and sate ayam (grilled chicken skewers) inside the arena itself.

The occasion? The Warriors’ fifth annual Muslim Heritage Night, which the team hosts in collaboration with local food festival organizer HalalFest. The event brings the Bay Area Muslim community together for a night of halal food (normally not available inside Chase Center) and much-needed celebration — especially during this time of rising Islamophobia, ICE crackdowns and targeted travel bans.

HalalFest founder Irfan Rydhan expects this year’s edition to be the largest one yet: 700 fans have already bought tickets, including 250 who purchased boxed barbecue meals from Fikscue. While the deadline has passed for pre-ordering the Fikscue meals, a handful of promotional tickets for the game are still available, ranging from $120 to $275 — the latter for seats in the Modelo Cantina, whose buffet spread that night will feature all halal meats and seafood. The Chase Center will also provide a designated room where Muslim fans can pray during the game.

Warriors' fans hold up a "Muslim Heritage Night" T-shirt.
Fans at the 2025 edition of Muslim Heritage Night show off a commemorative T-shirt. (Meriam Salem, via HalalFest)

The promotion brings halal-keeping Warriors’ fans one step closer to their longer-term goal: having a permanent halal food vendor inside the venue Even though Fikscue’s Thrive City shop is located just a few steps away from Chase Center, purchases there still count as “outside food” and can’t be brought inside the arena. It’s a question the restaurant’s Thrive City team has had to answer “many, many times,” Reka Saleh says with bemusement — so it’s clear the demand is there.

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For Fik and Reka, participating in this year’s Muslim Heritage feels like the logical next step for Fikscue, which has mushroomed since its days as a scrappy pop-up. The restaurant went from being open just a few hours on weekends only at its Alameda location to adding Wednesday night dinner service and, since last June, the operation in San Francisco — featuring a gorgeous new pit room that faces the Bay.

But this year, Reka says, they’re looking forward to participating in more events like Muslim Heritage Night. “It means a lot,” she says, “because that was the whole purpose of us being 100% halal, right? It was to be able to connect to the broader community.”

To purchase Muslim Heritage Night promotional tickets to the Jan. 15 Warriors game against the Knicks, email info@halalfest.com. Prices range from $120 to $275 per ticket. The deadline to order the tickets is 3 p.m. on Jan. 15.

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