By Charlene Macaulay
Hadi Chami lives and breathes Wyndham. The 25-year-old Truganina resident, who owns and runs Notorious Espresso in Werribee, is just about to add a second child to his growing family. He sat down with Charlene Macaulay to talk about his family, business and hobbies.
What is your connection to the Wyndham area?
I’ve lived here for about four years now. The main drawcard to come down this way was the cost of living and also my in-laws. It’s really good for families, bigger houses, parks, that kind of thing. I was in Newport before that.
Tell me about your family.
I’ve been married for three years. My wife grew up around here, she went to Westbourne [Grammar School] and now I live opposite Westbourne. We’ve got a son that’s 18 months old, Danny, and we’ve got another one due in three weeks.
Another boy?
A girl.
You’ve had cafes elsewhere, why did you set up shop in Werribee?
We had a place in the city, but I came down to Watton Street and just thought ‘wow’! I hadn’t been down here in about 10 years and I thought this place was awesome, it had so much potential. [Werribee’s] going through a phase where all the old stuff is moving out and new stuff is moving in. It had a lot of potential, a lot of foot traffic, a changing demographic. They’re the main points. And less travel [to and from work] as well.
If there was something that you could change about the area, what would it be?
There’s not much, really. Just roads, getting better infrastructure. In terms of everything else, it’s fine. General traffic around the area – my area near school time, you can’t move. It needs to be rectified. I don’t know why they didn’t do it when they did the infrastructure [western roads package], they completely just went past Sayers Road. But apart from that – the schools, parks, people – it’s good.
What would you say is your favourite Wyndham spot?
Down K Road’s nice, Watton Street is good.
What are your hobbies outside of work?
I do a lot of work at our community centre, it’s a Muslim community centre and we do a lot of events there. I’m one of the directors there, so I’ve got a lot of responsibilities there organising small events and stuff. Apart from that, a bit of indoor soccer. Coffee’s my hobby.
How do you have your coffee?
Either short black or a piccolo.
