Peas in a pod: Rob VIgliaturo is well known to Kyabram people as an astute and successful businessman. He owns the building that will be home to Mustafa Hussani’s new Kyabram Kebab business, the Afghan national operating the business with his cousin Farishta.
Rob Vigliaturo hasn’t known the owner of Kyabram’s latest kebab restaurant all that long, but he has discovered a number of similarities in the Afghan-born businessmen to him as a young pizza maker.
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“I started out working at Tony’s Pizza (only a couple of doors up from the Kyabram Kebab shop run by cousins Mustafa and Farishta) and ended up buying the business and then the building,” he said.
Mustafa Hussani, who arrived in Australia from the war torn country in 2005 not long after being shot in the leg as a child, has been open for eight weeks and is already making a name for himself.
“My advice for him was to get involved in the community and get to know people, He has certainly done that, he is sponsoring a couple of football and netball teams and is looking after the kids when they come in for a kebab,” Rob said.
The building that houses the new restaurant, ironically, was a kebab shop, but has been empty for more than five years.
Rob bought the shop a year ago and has revitalised the building in preparation for the arrival of Mustafa and his cousin, along with other members of the family who travel from Shepparton to help out here and there.
Mustafa grew up in Brisbane, but had family in Shepparton and first set foot in Kyabram only four years ago.
"I visited the town while I was living in Shepparton and immediately wanted to have my own shop here,“ he said.
“It felt right, I really like Kyabram straight away.”
Rob said he had a similar vision as Mustafa in providing the Kyabram community with a healthy and quality dining alternative.
"It was a win win for us,“ he said.
“I found a good tenant who fills a void in the community and Mustafa has a good shop in a great location.”
Rob said he had identified this (Kyabram Kebab) as something the town needed and he was more than happy to help the new owners find their feet.
The positive energy and ongoing support of the landlord is shared by his new tenant, who has a menu to match his outlook on life: imaginative and vast.
Rob, who originally came to Kyabram from Tatura 35 years ago and still has family running an Ardmona orchard, has gone from pizza maker to real estate entrepreneur.
He said Mustafa had business goals that reminded him of his own progress several decades ago.
The expansive menu includes an Aussie kebab (with chips and gravy, cheese and whatever meat you desire), then there is the snack pack where chips are mixed with the meat and garlic sauce.
To be truthful, there are too many to mention, so dropping in between 10am-10pm on weekends or 10am until 9pm weekdays is probably your best option.
As for Mustafa, he is happy to be here at all after fleeing with his family to Australia.
“I am lucky. My mum and dad and siblings are here, my uncle is here and my cousins,” he said.
Mustafa is on the lookout for a delivery rider, the store having its own electric bicycle ready for the new “rider’’.
He said he was hoping to bring some home-style Afghan cooking and a little diversity to Kyabram with his products.
"This is what he would cook back at home,“ he said.
On your bike: Mustafa Hussani, the new owner of Kyabram Kebab, is looking for a new delivery rider to be involved in the restaurant at the eastern end of Allan Street.
