High profile boss of fast food chain whose restaurant was targeted in an arson attack steps down as CEO
Founder and CEO of the Melbourne-based restaurant, Hash Tayeh, said he was leaving the role of of food and beverage company QSR Collective CEO Wednesday.
It was with a heavy heart that he announced his decision on Instagram.
'The decision hasn't come lightly, but it comes with complete conviction,' he wrote.
'When I started Burgertory, it was never just about burgers. It was about building something unapologetically bold.'
His departure comes after the fast food chain became Australia's first to introduce 'a profit-sharing model across all staff, not just the boardroom'.
Despite Mr Tayeh's leaving he insisted that it still had plans to 'take on the world'.
A location is still expected to launch in the Philippines later this year.
The 35-year-old burger boss said he was leaving so that his store could continue to grow.
'This isn't me stepping away because we're winding down, this is me stepping aside so Burgertory can soar higher,' he wrote.
Mr Tayeh is a Palestinian-Australian businessman who caught a lot of flack for his ventures into activism amidst the Israel-Hamas war.
He vocally advocated for his fellow Palestinians across protests and online.
Previously Mr Tayeh had a branch of his gourmet burger chain firebombed after he led chants at a pro-Palestine rally in Melbourne in late 2023.
Burgertory's Caulfield branch burned down early in the morning in November although no one was inside at the time.
Ten fire crews battled to extinguish the blaze, which appears to have gutted the restaurant and shattered its glass windows, for around half an hour.
The chain is Australia's largest independently-owned burger restaurant after founding it in 2018.
It's owner however had sparked controversy for leading cries of 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free' at a local protest.
Many interpret the chant as a call for the destruction of Israel.
Mr Tayeh vehemently denies he is anti-Semitic and has since asserted he has the deepest sympathy for civilian victims in both Palestine and Israel.
The inferno was investigated at the time.
Mr Tayeh and his family moved into a safe house after this attack.
One year later his own home was allegedly firebombed while he and his family were asleep.
Mr Tayeh claimed these alleged attacks had been sparked by his vocal support of Palestine in his retirement post.
'The reality is, I've been subjected to targeted attacks, politically motivated smears, and ongoing harassment, not because of any wrongdoing, but because I've dared to speak out against injustice,' he said.
'While I will never apologise for my activism, or my voice, I cannot allow these attacks to become collateral damage for the people who've helped build this empire.'
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