Wagga's own Habibi Chicken to share the 'love' with a second store in Melbourne

Wagga’s homegrown charcoal chicken brand is looking to spread its wings and is preparing to open a second store in Melbourne.

Habibi Chicken (Habibi means ‘my love’ in Arabic) opened its doors on Fitzmaurice Street just two years ago and has quickly become a popular option for locals looking for something fast and fresh in the CBD.

Co-founder Farhan Rehman said they were finalising the fit-out on a new venue in the northeast of Melbourne to begin the quest to sell a unique Riverina flavour in the big smoke.

“I can’t think of another brand that has done this, launching here in Wagga and then taking it to the city instead of the other way around,” Farhan mused.

“All our recipes, spices, the sauces, all of it will come from Wagga and will be taken down to Melbourne, which is very important to me because it means more opportunities and more jobs here.”

The former Wagga High student studied law in Melbourne and is the managing partner at the Rehman Sheriff Group (RSG) specialising in immigration law with offices in Sydney, Melbourne and the Riverina.

After moving back to Wagga to be closer to family, Farhan and his sister Mariam decided to bring something new to the region and at the same time create a brand that was uniquely local.

“The brand is all Wagga. It’s not just – we’re Habibi Chicken, and we sell chicken – it’s all about celebrating this region and our community,” Farhan said.

“My family’s been here for nearly 30 years and I want to make sure that we continue that story.”

A key factor in getting the product right has been the hands-on work of Mohamad El Halwani, better known as Manager Mo, who moved from Sydney to oversee the Wagga store.

“I think this style of charcoal chicken and the Middle Eastern food was something new and people like the food, but they also like the atmosphere and the culture,” he said.

“We are very engaged with the community and with the locals and we like to give back as well, and people really respond to that.”

Mo said business was good and had grown steadily, but Farhan acknowledged that opening a new business at the tail end of the pandemic wasn’t easy.

“It’s been challenging, but exceptional because we’re improving each day,” he said.

“We weren’t in any rush and we wanted to take it step by step, to build a foundation so that we would have that longevity in business.

“Things can fall down very quickly in hospitality because there’s so many moving parts, but if you get it right, things can be exceptional.”

While expansion into new markets has always been the plan, Farhan said that franchising the brand is not on the cards yet.

“The second in Melbourne is a corporate store, and we’re doing that because we want to make sure that we do it right,” he said.

“It’s still our baby, and we want to make sure that the processes all marry up, and that it runs well and the food and the culture are good.

“I envision one day, when we have many stores all over Australia and maybe even overseas, we will have our story up there in the store and it will be the story about how it came from Wagga.”