It has more than 475 outlets[1] (many of them self-owned) across the country and has recently begun expansion into foreign markets.

Habib's was founded by a Portuguese-born baker, Alberto Saraiva, who had no particular ties to the Middle East himself, got the idea early in 1988 after an ailing old man of Arab descent applied for a job in his bakery.

With no job at hand for the man to apply to, but upon learning that he had been a cook back in his home land, Mr. Saraiva decided to open a small fast-food restaurant focused on Middle-Eastern fast-food, unheard at the time in Brazil, believing the success could rely on the novelty of it, and hired the man.

Catering to this demand, Habib's soon started to grow and became one of Brazil's most thriving businesses.

[citation needed] Habib's has been probing the foreign market for quite some time, and attempts to set up stores across Mexico were made in 2001.