Riyadh court orders liquidation of Saudi burger chain Hamburgini after food poisoning case
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The Riyadh Commercial Court has ordered the liquidation of Asasiyat Al-Ghitha Trading, the parent company of Hamburgini. The ruling ends a 12-year run for one of Saudi Arabia’s best-known burger chains.
Bankruptcy trustee Mubarak Al-Anazi announced the decision and said creditors have 90 days to submit claims.
Hamburgini began in Riyadh in 2013 and grew quickly through social media and youth-focused marketing. Between 2015 and 2019 it expanded across the Kingdom, reaching 57 branches at its peak, including 29 in Riyadh.
In 2020, then-chief executive Nawaf Al-Fawzan said the company planned to list 20 percent of its shares on the Nomu parallel market.
The brand’s fortunes shifted in 2024 after a mass food-poisoning incident in Riyadh. More than 70 people fell ill and one person died. Investigators traced the outbreak to an imported “Bon Tum” mayonnaise contaminated with Clostridium botulinum. Authorities closed Hamburgini outlets in Riyadh, recalled the product and halted production at the supplier’s facility.
The incident damaged the brand’s reputation and sales. With debts mounting and no clear recovery, the court issued the liquidation order in August 2025.