The father of invention
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday September 8, 2009
A daughter reinvents her father's former grocery site as a bountiful market. STANDING on the floor of her food store is a sentimental experience for Rosemary Cartisano. The Food Lovers Market she owns and runs is on the same spot her dad had his greengrocer business and where she grew up above the shop.Her father, Tony Simonetta, who migrated from Calabria in 1955, opened the corrugated iron fruit and vegetable shop in 1960. Thirty-five years and a renovation later, he went into semi-retirement and leased out the premises.Cartisano, 47, returned to her roots 18 months ago when she took back the family store. She didn't just open a modern greengrocer, however she installed an ambitious retailing concept that originated in South Africa, a blend of market food hall and suburban fruit barn.In a warehouse-style building, she has 1000 square metres of produce from supermarket staples to high-end gourmet products.Signs on bulkheads and coloured tiles mark the different sections. The butcher, Eddie Abo Faour from Casula, has red tiles, Penrith Seafood is backed with blue and aqua, and the Fresh section with yoghurts, fruit salad and fresh juices is marked green.Meanwhile, fruit and vegetables are raked on stands made from broad timber slats and industrial iron brackets. Above the stands, a system of pipes and nozzles sprays a fine mist of water every five minutes. The mist keeps the produce fresh and the air humid. For those in a hurry, a fridge holds pre-packed produce, including tubs of sliced and diced onion, celery and capsicum.The deli sits in the middle. On one side, a low, open display of nearly 160 cheeses boasts fine imported and Australian brands.On the other side are the antipasto and smallgoods. Local producers such as Vecchiet, Quattro Stelle, Pastorale and San Marino are alongside Italian prosciutto and Spanish jamon serrano. While the fruit and vegetables are sourced by Cartisano's young cousin Anthony Gigliotti, and the meat and seafood are managed by the contracted operators, the deli is Cartisano's domain.She buys boldly, led by her palate, which was honed as a former restaurateur. She ran Vinnies in Casula with her husband for 18 years before planning a retirement that never eventuated. "I got bored," she says.Her customers support her risk-taking because they want what is good and they trust me. She justifies their faith by stocking Pasta Italia and Pastabilities, Pukara olive oils and Picasso pasta sauces, Crostoli King biscuits and Careme frozen pastry, Wilkin & Sons jams and Peter Watson condiments, Kialla organic rolled oats and Italian truffle salt the list goes on.Cartisano has not only gone full circle, she's reinvented a mid-20th-century family business as 21st-century one. Her dad, who drops in almost every day to help, couldn't be happier.The Food Lovers Market228 Newbridge Road, Moorebank, 9612 9612Daily, 8am-7pmBest buysLe Delice de Bourgogne triple cream cheese, $69.99 kgMoredough Kitchen Dijon and honey mayonnaise, $10.59 250mlPicasso Napolitano pasta sauce,$5.99 500ml
Β© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald