Nabiha Koriaty, 77, arrived in Australia back in 1968, not knowing a single word of English, but her faith provided a pillar of strength.

In 1989, she opened her business that 30 years later would be fondly known and loved by the Wagga community.

"It is my second home," she said.

"I started at first in the Sunday Markets selling my food and then I came and looked at this room.

"There was a rusty ceiling and lots of problems, but I knew I could fix it."

Ms Koriaty's husband said no to the idea, but she went behind his back and rented the store because she knew she could take up the challenge.

"I fixed it and I signed over the house so if anything went wrong, they would have taken the house," she said.

"With God's help I did it and he didn't know for a while."

Ms Koriaty said her favourite moments have been the times she has been able to help those who needed it most.

"I am here, not to make money, but to help those who need help," she said.

"One boy asked for a job and he had been in trouble with the police, but I gave him a job and encouraged him to go to TAFE and now he works as a chef in Canberra.

"Another boy came to me and said he was suicidal because his girlfriend of seven years had left him, but I told him to not give up and chatted with him and he wrote me a letter from Darwin saying thank you."

Ms Koriaty said she has no intention of slowing down, despite being in her seventies.

"I love working," she said.

Ian Gray has been a customer of Ms Koriaty for the entire time she has been serving up delicious treats.

"I knew her when she had a little stall at the markets then we heard she opened the shop," he said.

"For 30 years now we have been coming along. Her spinach pies, baklava and baba ghanoush are all very tasty.

"Nabiha has been fantastic as a cook and as a community and she helped out the younger students and been a fantastic part of the Wagga community."

Angela Turnbull, one of Ms Koriaty's daughters, said she was incredibly proud of her mum.

"She has amazing stamina and she is a great model, not just in her cooking but in the way she relates to people and the way she helps people," she said.

"I think she has become one of those characteristics of Wagga, she is even on TripAdvisor. I still can't make houmous the way she does, she keeps it a secret."