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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n On a frenetic shopping strip in Melbourne\u2019s inner-west, Hamada Ahmed is frustrated and desperate.<\/p>\n The African restaurant owner has just handed lunch to a regular customer, who says he only comes to Footscray to grab food or cultural items.<\/p>\n \u201cThis area is hectic, mate,\u201d the customer says. \u201cIt\u2019s off its head. Expect the unexpected.\u201d<\/p>\n Around the corner, Western Bulldogs player Cody Weightman is volunteering his time, painting a mural inside what will next week become The Salvation Army\u2019s Lighthouse Cafe.<\/p>\n The space will give vulnerable people free breakfast and lunch, drawing them away from asking local businesses for money or meals, and connecting them with social services and community, its champions say.<\/p>\n But neighbouring traders fear the cafe will only bring more of the same to the central shopping district: a feeling of danger and disorder, driven by drugs, alcohol and untreated mental illness.<\/p>\n Traders all agree these people deserve help, but a small service \u2013 and to local businesses\u2019 detriment \u2013 will only deepen Footscray\u2019s crisis rather than aid it, they say.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will file class action if they go ahead,\u201d Ahmed says. \u201cThat\u2019s the only option we have.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article Upon learning that the cafe, located on the corner of Albert and Paisley streets and supported by a $950,000 Victorian government investment, is set to open next Wednesday, his face falls.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve told my wife: \u2018Don\u2019t come here. Don\u2019t bring the kids to Footscray\u2019,\u201d Ahmed says inside his restaurant, Khartoum City Cafe.<\/p>\n Surveying the cracked window that someone in a drug-induced rage recently smashed, he says, \u201cThere are drugs everywhere\u201d.<\/p>\n John\u2019s Nuts and Deli owner George, who has asked for his surname to be withheld over privacy concerns, is three doors down from what will soon become the Salvos\u2019 cafe. Having worked in the area for 23 years, George believes \u201cthis is the worst Footscray has ever been\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the screaming, swearing, defecating,\u201d he says. \u201cAction needs to be taken, and someone has to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n Community leader Berhan Ahmed says the Salvos\u2019 cafe may be well-intentioned, but it reflects the local and state governments\u2019 fragmented and misguided approach to fixing the area\u2019s ongoing crisis.<\/p>\n The stairwell to his office in a dated mall in Little Africa is a constant stream of people seeking culturally informed support for all manner of things from his community organisation, Africause, from booking mental health appointments, to refugees searching for work.<\/p>\n He says it is difficult to understand why the Victorian government would invest almost $1 million in a new iteration of a \u201cmainstream\u201d community service like the Salvos, rather than first examining Footscray\u2019s existing network for gaps \u2013 and ensuring it is coordinated and effective.<\/p>\n \u201cThe role of government is to look at the bigger picture and determine whether the real issues are being addressed,\u201d Berhan says.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment, our communities are growing in darkness rather than moving forward with genuine support and opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Local MP Katie Hall, who approached Premier Jacinta Allan about starting the project, argues the opposite is true. She says the Salvos\u2019 cafe is the \u201cmissing piece of the puzzle\u201d for Footscray, and is specifically intended to act as a triage connecting people to local services.<\/p>\n The project is modelled off the Salvos\u2019 Magpie Nest Cafe in Melbourne\u2019s CBD, and is intentionally located to meet people where they need it, Hall says.<\/p>\n Three social workers will staff the cafe from Monday to Friday between 10am and 4pm, and external services will come in to the space to work with clients.<\/p>\n The organisation looked at about a dozen different sites before settling on the blank-slate shop opposite Footscray Plaza, which is smaller than Magpie Nest and devoid of showers and toilets \u2013 but the government is relying on Footscray\u2019s Cohealth service to fill that gap, Hall says.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, we want and need all of the businesses in Footscray to be thriving. So this will be a space where, perhaps, instead of vulnerable people going into cafes and asking for food, they will be able to come here,\u201d Hall says.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t police your way out of complex mental health issues or homelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n Salvation Army commanding officer Brendan Nottle notes the organisation has received only positive feedback, and says the outpouring of support is unlike anything he\u2019s seen before.<\/p>\n \u201cWe certainly don\u2019t see that we\u2019re knights riding in with shining armour with all the solutions,\u201d Nottle says. \u201cWe see what we will provide is a value add to what\u2019s already there.\u201d<\/p>\n Footscray Community Response lawyer Shifrah Blustein, however, says the cafe\u2019s minimal resourcing demonstrates it is an optics exercise only.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no 24\/7 public toilet in central Footscray, but unhoused people are the ones demonised for relieving themselves, instead of blaming the politicians who refuse to provide real facilities,\u201d Blustein says.<\/p>\n Maribyrnong council is covering the lease for the space, and is unaware of any concerns about its location or resourcing, Mayor Mohamed Semra says. The council was not required to formally consult the community about the cafe, given it is not delivering the project.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cAny operational decisions, including its model, staffing and resourcing, sits with The Salvation Army and the state government,\u201d Semra says.<\/p>\n Next door to Ahmed\u2019s restaurant, at variety store Bright Merkato, spices line the walls and handwoven baskets are piled on the floor.<\/p>\n Dawit Kebede has owned the shop for more than a decade, and says the Salvos\u2019 service would be better suited elsewhere in Footscray, outside the central shopping district.<\/p>\n \u201cOur business has already been struggling,\u201d he says. \u201cCustomers [who are] coming in \u2013 sometimes they\u2019re scared to get out.\u201d<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Khartoum](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/362eee69068c8545379ad0457424bf684f7d07e9.jpeg\")
Khartoum City Cafe owner Hamada Ahmed, who is among Paisley Street traders concerned about Footscray\u2019s new Salvation Army cafe. Jason South<\/p>\n![\"Western](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0594e834c2f0ff55dbda38a4267975d589df8092.jpeg\")
Western Bulldogs player and artist, Cody Weightman, painting a mural at the new Salvos\u2019 caf\u00e9. The Bulldogs are supporting the project. Jason South<\/p>\n![\"Images](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b9e70a36c643edbf06b73838ea43429ce09bce90.gif\")
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African community leader Berhan Ahmed said the cafe was not the right solution. Jason South<\/p>\n![\"Khartoum](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/51d49871892d8616d00eef6a471678558b211b6d.jpeg\")
Khartoum City Cafe owner Hamada Ahmed inside his Footscray restaurant. Jason South <\/p>\n![\"Bright](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/9ff0144a11a8b35a1568c2ab58bab6481d7d82d9.jpeg\")
Bright Merkato Dawit Kebede says the caf\u00e9 should be away from Footscray\u2019s central shopping district. Jason South<\/p>\n![\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d963ba7ab5fa3bf2494bcc81e65328fb70dd22d9.jpeg\")
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