When Jordan-native Haitham "Mario" Allabadi first came to the United States, he says he opened a small fast food restaurant where steak sandwiches and lemonade were the two most popular items. So Allabadi says he came up with the idea to put these top-two sellers in the name of his next restaurant to give his business a unique but simple spin. So in 1998, he opened up a restaurant in south suburban Country Club Hills with the name Baba's Famous Steak and Lemonade. It became a local hit.