Wagga’s Mariam Rehman co-started chicken shop Habibi Chicken with the aim of sharing the Aussie regional migrant experience to the cities and beyond.
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00:00 Habibi is a very common term used amongst,
00:03 not even just the Arab culture and language.
00:06 The premise of it is to ensure everyone feels loved.
00:09 That's what we're trying to go for.
00:11 My name is Maryam Rahman.
00:13 I'm a business owner and I'm based in Wagah Wagah.
00:15 I'm a director of Manal, a brand agency,
00:18 and also a partner of Habibi Chicken.
00:20 We always wanted something that we could eat in Wagah
00:23 because I'm Muslim by background
00:24 and there was like really no halal food.
00:26 One of the other partners to Habibi Chicken is my brother.
00:29 And honestly, it was as simple as him coming up
00:32 with an idea and it was post COVID,
00:34 oh, what's something that's recession proof?
00:36 Chicken shop.
00:37 But then once we got involved in creating the brand,
00:39 we needed to identify, okay,
00:41 you can't just be a chicken shop to survive.
00:44 You need to have something that people can connect with
00:46 and align with.
00:47 And we bought our own personal story and vision
00:49 of wanting to create impact from Wagah from the regions
00:52 then out to the, like to metropolitan.
00:55 So we're like, what can we do to play on the culture
00:58 that exists from a Middle Eastern perspective in Australia,
01:01 but also the Australian culture.
01:02 We married the two to create some like contemporary vibe.
01:06 So like the warm feeling when you come in here,
01:08 yes, it's takeaway, but it's still for families.
01:11 It's still for people who are like busy,
01:13 maybe running a business, maybe, you know,
01:16 got a really busy nine to five job,
01:17 don't have time to go back home and cook,
01:19 but they don't want to compromise the quality
01:21 of their food as well.
01:22 (upbeat music)
01:25 [BLANK_AUDIO]