Ghazal started his career in 1998 at 18 as a busboy at La Queue de Cheval Steakhouse & Bar in Montreal. He worked his way up the ranks from waiter to assistant restaurant manager, to director of marketing for the Morentzos Restaurant Group owned by Peter Morentzos.[2]
Ghazal spent three years living in London between 1999 and 2003 where he studied Film Production and Scriptwriting at Raindance Studios and while working for the Soho House.[3]
After leaving MRG in 2009, Ghazal moved to Beirut, Lebanon, where he created, owned and operated four restaurants and venues: Cro Magnon Steakhouse & Bar, St. Elmo’s Seaside on Zaitunay Bay, The Angry Monkey, which was franchised to Dubai's Stereo Arcade Complex in 2013, and Brgr Co.[4]
In 2013 Ghazal moved back to Dubai to establish Fighterbrands, an agency that develops, owns and manages restaurant and bar concepts.[5]
In 2014 Ghazal established Pine Tree State Trading Co, a BVI company that owns the Maine Oyster Bar & Grill.[6][7][8]
In 2017 Ghazal set up Barbary Deli & Cocktail Club, a cocktail bar at the TRYP by Wyndham Hotel in Barsha Heights.
In 2018, Ghazal was awarded Restaurateur of the Year 2018 at Caterer Middle East Awards.[9]
In 2019, Ghazal opened the Maine Street Eatery in the Studio One Hotel, in Studio City.[10]
In 2020, Ghazal opened the Maine Land Brasserie at the Opus ME Melia Hotel in Business Bay.[11]
In 2021, Ghazal opened the first international outpost of the Maine in London, with the Maine Mayfair, in Hanover Square in Mayfair.[12][13][14][15][16][17]
In 2022 Ghazal opened the Canary Club in JLT, a West Coast-inspired restaurant which was his first departure from the Maine brand.[18][19][20]
In 2023, Ghazal opened the Maine Ibiza in the Salt flats of Salinas in Ibiza.[21][22][23][24][25]
Ghazal is also the founder of the Million Oyster Project which is the region's first community-driven reef restoration project], using the Maine's discarded oyster shells to rehabilitate the natural reef system off the coast of Dubai to promote marine biodiversity and create a natural habitat for the endangered Hawksbill Turtle.[26][27][28]