‘Habibi’ is the secret ingredient at this country charcoal chicken shop

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.

Transcript

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 Once we got involved in creating the brand,

00:28 we needed to identify, okay,

00:30 you can't just be a chicken shop to survive.

00:32 You need to have something that people can connect with

00:35 and align with.

00:36 So we're like, what can we do to play on the culture

00:38 that exists from a Middle Eastern perspective in Australia,

00:41 but also the Australian culture.

00:43 We married the two.

00:44 Yes, it's takeaway, but it's still for families.

00:46 It's still for people who are like busy.

00:48 Maybe running a business,

00:49 maybe, you know, got a really busy nine to five job,

00:52 don't have time to go back home and cook,

00:54 but they don't want to compromise

00:55 the quality of their food as well.

00:57 (gentle music)