Toowoomba Yazidi refugee community assisting Margaret Street revamp with new restaurants, shops

After years of struggling to fill shopfronts, Toowoomba’s foodie district is booming, and a small group of refugee entrepreneurs are contributing with their own recipes and businesses.

Dalshad Zghla and his delicious authentic Iraqi kebabs are the latest additions to the CBD’s growing foodie district, but he’s also the newest member of a growing number of special Toowoomba entrepreneurs.

The Iraqi refugee’s new Toowoomba Shish Kebabs restaurant is one of about half a dozen new stores opened by Yazidi families on Margaret Street over the past two years.

Not only are the shops filling previously-empty ground-floor vacancies in the CBD, but it’s also adding to the revitalisation of the city centre that has been maligned for many years.

New businesses include traditional eateries, grocery stores and tobacconists, with some community members suggesting there could be more than dozen across the whole city.

Toowoomba Shish Kebab owner Dalshad Zghla cooking in the Margaret St store. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Mr Zghla, who worked in kebab shops back in Iraq but has never owned one before, said the number of new Yazidi-owned businesses was “exciting”.

His shop’s next-door neighbour is K4 Kebab and Fast Food, owned by fellow Yazidi man Shukri Alawsi.

Mr Alaswi said he was happy to see so many Iraqis investing into the CBD.

NOW OPEN: K4 Kebabs and Fast Food owner Shukri Alawsi is a proud member of Toowoomba's Yazidi community.

It comes off the back of a surge in the Yazidi population across the Garden City since 2017, when a large cohort were brought here to escape a horrific genocide being carried out by ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

It’s believed there could be as many as 4000 Yazidi residents now living in Toowoomba, and new census data reveals Kurdish is the second-most spoken language at home across the region.

Helping these businesses navigate all the processes and requirements is Khoudeida “Jack” Mirza, whose family was one of the first Yazidis settling in Australia.

Mr Mirza, who spent nearly 10 years in a Syrian refugee camp during the 1990s, moved up to Toowoomba from Brisbane when he heard Yazidis were being settled in the Garden City.

He’s since assisted a number of businesses, including serving customers for free.

“We moved to Toowoomba about four years ago, when the Yazidi people started coming up here, that made me happy,” he said.

Making tea is Khoudeida (Jack) Mirza in the Toowoomba Shish Kebab shop in Margaret St, Wednesday, August 17, 2022. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“It was exciting, I thought I’d come here and give them help.

“When I came to family events, I introduced myself and some were asking about me, because they got my number from the families over there.

“I didn’t mind helping them out, working with them – if they need something, I will help them.”

Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Rohl said Margaret Street was thriving, and the Yazidi community had played a role in its revitalisation.

“We have noticed them as well, and it’s good to have those shops filled,” he said.

“It reflects on the opportunities that Toowoomba provides for small businesses.

“What we know is we’ve got highly motivated migrants and refugees who really want to contribute to the community. They’re offering a great deal of diversity too.”

Mr Rohl said the chamber was working with organisations like CatholicCare and Multicultural Australia to assist businesses started by refugees and migrants.

Both shops mentioned above are located at 160 Margaret Street.

A table full of food from Toowoomba Shish Kebab in Margaret St, Wednesday, August 17, 2022. Picture: Kevin Farmer