Fitzmaurice Street's status as a burgeoning foodie strip showcasing a multitude of culture and flavour continues with a soon-to-arrive Middle Eastern-Australian charcoal chicken shop.
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Taking over the Cave BBQ space near the corner of Fitzmaurice and Gurwood Streets, Habibi Chicken is yet to announce an opening date.
Co-founder Mariam Rehman, 23, promises something Wagga is yet to experience in the shop's celebration of Australia's unique Middle Eastern food culture.
"Although my ethnic background is Pakistani, having some kind of ethnic food has somewhat lacked in Wagga," she said.
"And I'm from a Muslim background - there's not many Halal options, so it was kind of a driving factor as well to provide for a growing Muslim community here.
"Middle Eastern culture has had a huge impact on Australia as a country, so we wanted to showcase that."
Ms Rehman, who is born and bred in Wagga and already runs Wagga brand consultancy company Monale, is partnering up with two other owners, from Sydney and Wagga, in her first venture into hospitality.
Managing day to day operations in store will be Mohamad el Halwani.
"He was actually managing three charcoal chicken shops in Sydney, so we've got that first hand experience," Ms Rehman said.
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How Wagga responds to its newest food option may have a big impact on Ms Rehman's hopes for Habibi Chicken's prospects.
"It's more than just making chicken, it's actually about making some kind of impact in a long term mission," she said.
"So, we do hope to open a few stores around Australia and if it goes really well, it can go global."
Habibi Chicken is currently searching for local staff.
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