Latest news with #Foti
The Age
19-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
‘It's the milk bar for 2025': Breadcetera fills a loaf gap in Malvern East
The new takeaway shop and grocer is serving house-made sausage rolls, chocolate tarts and chicken salad sangers on high-top bread. Previous SlideNext Slide An old hair salon opposite Malvern East's Central Park is now a smart sandwich shop and grocery store. 'It's the milk bar for 2025,' says co-owner Frank Ciorciari, standing in front of a shelf of premium tinned fish, hot honey and fancy mayo. To his right, a bowl of chestnuts gleams on a farmhouse table, and on his left, buckets of poppies, magnolias and sunflowers sit on the floor, waiting for their turn in a local lounge room. 'People are educated,' says Ciorciari. 'They love dining out, they know quality products. We think this is what they're looking for.' Good Food visited on Saturday, Breadcetera's opening day. Children in sport uniforms eyed the chocolate tart while parents waited for coffee. The house-made sausage rolls had already been snapped up. Ciorciari and his business partners own wine bar Riserva two doors down, as well as Lucia in South Melbourne and Baia Di Vino in Sandringham. 'We've been here for years and I live in the area too,' says Ciorciari, in between fielding reservation requests for his restaurants. 'We could see a gap for that quality bread offering.' Breadcetera has sourced its hero product from three bakeries. Blanc Bakery in Berwick and Our Place in Heathmont provide the loaves, bagels and focaccia. The sweet pastries are from Austro Bakery in North Melbourne. Buy a loaf to go, or have it turned into lunch, maybe ficelle (similar to a baguette but thinner) with ham, gruyere and sweet mustard pickle; poached chicken salad on white high-top; or a fior di latte and tomato bagel. Riserva is loved for its kids-eat-free offering between 5pm and 6pm daily, and the most popular menu item is the wagyu bolognese. 'We'll put that in the fridge here, maybe turn it into a lasagne, all that stuff in time,' says Ciorciari. Window bench and pavement seating is to come, but the store will stay mostly takeaway. 'We're thinking people will come for egg and bacon muffins on the way to sport, or if you've got five minutes to yourself and come in for a wander, or it's your girlfriend's birthday so you buy a bunch of flowers and maybe a gift. We're here for the community.' Open daily 8am-4pm 399 Wattletree Road, Malvern East, Other new grab-and-go lunch spots to try Crop Salad magician Frankie Cox has opened Crop, serving a rainbow of all-Victorian ingredients for lunch and dinner. Similar to Cox's Cremorne launching pad, you can order a preconfigured salad (make mine a winter miso with sweet potato, red cabbage and seaweed crunch) or build your own bowl, choosing greens, toppings, texture and dressings as the mood strikes. 291 Smith Street, Fitzroy, Foti and Friends Suzie Posnakidis noticed she was feeding her son, Foti, and his friends anyway, so she sold her protein bar business to turn her natural hospitality into a cafe and deli. Foti & Friends is a sweet new spot, open since March, and offering Greek dishes to eat in and take away. A weekly menu announces the roster: chicken with lemon potatoes on Tuesday, say, and stuffed peppers for Friday. The oven is always on, turning out spanakopita and sweet biscuits.
Sydney Morning Herald
19-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘It's the milk bar for 2025': Breadcetera fills a loaf gap in Malvern East
The new takeaway shop and grocer is serving house-made sausage rolls, chocolate tarts and chicken salad sangers on high-top bread. Previous SlideNext Slide An old hair salon opposite Malvern East's Central Park is now a smart sandwich shop and grocery store. 'It's the milk bar for 2025,' says co-owner Frank Ciorciari, standing in front of a shelf of premium tinned fish, hot honey and fancy mayo. To his right, a bowl of chestnuts gleams on a farmhouse table, and on his left, buckets of poppies, magnolias and sunflowers sit on the floor, waiting for their turn in a local lounge room. 'People are educated,' says Ciorciari. 'They love dining out, they know quality products. We think this is what they're looking for.' Good Food visited on Saturday, Breadcetera's opening day. Children in sport uniforms eyed the chocolate tart while parents waited for coffee. The house-made sausage rolls had already been snapped up. Ciorciari and his business partners own wine bar Riserva two doors down, as well as Lucia in South Melbourne and Baia Di Vino in Sandringham. 'We've been here for years and I live in the area too,' says Ciorciari, in between fielding reservation requests for his restaurants. 'We could see a gap for that quality bread offering.' Breadcetera has sourced its hero product from three bakeries. Blanc Bakery in Berwick and Our Place in Heathmont provide the loaves, bagels and focaccia. The sweet pastries are from Austro Bakery in North Melbourne. Buy a loaf to go, or have it turned into lunch, maybe ficelle (similar to a baguette but thinner) with ham, gruyere and sweet mustard pickle; poached chicken salad on white high-top; or a fior di latte and tomato bagel. Riserva is loved for its kids-eat-free offering between 5pm and 6pm daily, and the most popular menu item is the wagyu bolognese. 'We'll put that in the fridge here, maybe turn it into a lasagne, all that stuff in time,' says Ciorciari. Window bench and pavement seating is to come, but the store will stay mostly takeaway. 'We're thinking people will come for egg and bacon muffins on the way to sport, or if you've got five minutes to yourself and come in for a wander, or it's your girlfriend's birthday so you buy a bunch of flowers and maybe a gift. We're here for the community.' Open daily 8am-4pm 399 Wattletree Road, Malvern East, Other new grab-and-go lunch spots to try Crop Salad magician Frankie Cox has opened Crop, serving a rainbow of all-Victorian ingredients for lunch and dinner. Similar to Cox's Cremorne launching pad, you can order a preconfigured salad (make mine a winter miso with sweet potato, red cabbage and seaweed crunch) or build your own bowl, choosing greens, toppings, texture and dressings as the mood strikes. 291 Smith Street, Fitzroy, Foti and Friends Suzie Posnakidis noticed she was feeding her son, Foti, and his friends anyway, so she sold her protein bar business to turn her natural hospitality into a cafe and deli. Foti & Friends is a sweet new spot, open since March, and offering Greek dishes to eat in and take away. A weekly menu announces the roster: chicken with lemon potatoes on Tuesday, say, and stuffed peppers for Friday. The oven is always on, turning out spanakopita and sweet biscuits.
ABC News
10-05-2025
- ABC News
Push for housing in Sydney's east will erase last traces of once-famous Grotta Capri restaurant
When patrons dined at the famed Grotta Capri they felt transported to Neptune's cave in Italy. That is despite the Kensington restaurant being on a bustling road in Sydney's east. The dining room, fit with fish tanks, blue lights, painted water scenes and fake stalactites, was an underwater-dream. It's exterior — thousands of chipped oyster shells stuck onto textured walls —is worn down by time. The Grotta Capri has been closed for nearly 15 years, but soon the site will be lost to history. The former restaurant and neighbouring buildings have been earmarked for a precinct redevelopment with approval by Randwick City Council for four high-rise residential apartment blocks. Kensington has seen massive change over the last decade with the introduction of the light rail. As demand for housing and urban renewal increases, older venues have either been knocked down or reserved for construction. Opening in 1955, the restaurant was aptly named the Grotta Capri after the Grotta Azzurra in Italy, a famous blue sea cave on the coast of the island of Capri. It was a tribute to the post-World War II rush of migrants that shaped modern Australia. The Grotta Capri was known for its cassata — Sicilian style gelato with layers of candied fruit, nuts and sometimes sponge cake. The original owners, Rosa and Giovanni Battista, are long gone, but George Fotaras and his Greek-born father, Foti, owned the restaurant for several years from the late 1990s. He remembers Ms Battista fondly. "She lived locally after her husband died. It was the first restaurant that served pizza in Sydney. They used to have a bakery upstairs." Mr Fotaras, who now works as a building designer, said diners came from far and wide to try their Mediterranean cuisine. He said some people even paid taxi drivers to pick up their orders if they wanted takeaway — well before food e-delivery drivers were invented. The most popular dish was a hot and cold seafood platter that included grilled Balmain bugs, oysters and a "pineapple in the middle filled with fruit salad". The restaurant was even a set for various film and television scenes, including Muriel's Wedding and Underbelly. Mr Fotaras said the venue's unique interior was part of its success. "It was all cement and chicken wire. Stalactites and stalagmites. It was solid as, bit of a bunker. It was a bit like a big restaurant in the middle of the [NSW] Jenolan Caves. "The restaurant had a water feature that ran throughout the ceiling, down through waterfalls, down through little rivers under the floor," he said. "There was a 6,000 litre water tank under the floor that was not working when we bought it. "It was a large restaurant, but it had all romantic little nooks and crannies." Originally from Sydney's east, Caterina Jones said her parents, Maria and Camillo Di-Cola, chose the Grotta Capri restaurant in 1959 for their wedding reception. "My parents wanted to have their small and intimate wedding reception there because being Italian migrants themselves, the restaurant and food on offer felt like home," Ms Jones said. She said it was a place where many people in the community held their special celebrations. It was extra special when years later in 2009 the family returned to celebrate a milestone wedding anniversary, Ms Jones recounted. "When it came time to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary, the Grotta Capri was the only choice for venue. "To be able to come back so many years later to celebrate was so meaningful and emotional. My family and I will always have fond memories of the place." Rob Freestone from the School of Built Environment at the University of NSW said local landmarks could have a big impact on a community. "Enduring local landmarks have a greater familiarity, and their passing can either be noted as the price of progress or genuinely mourned because of the depth of attachment," Professor Freestone said. It's not yet known when construction of the Kensington site will commence. Professor Freestone noted that Sydney's landscape would continue to evolve thanks to population needs in the future. "Revisit a place you haven't been for a while and note the changes that have taken place, physically, culturally, commercially. "It's part of the urban dynamic. At least the personal memories remain. But take that last photo now before it all disappears." Mr Fotaras hoped the memories of Grotta Capri would remain ever-present in the minds of former diners. "You mention Grotta Capri to someone who grew up in Sydney and they will say they have been to a wedding, a Valentine's Day or had a big day at the Randwick races and went after to celebrate. "It was just an amazing place … something we will never forget."
Reuters
27-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Italy failing to speed up sluggish spending of EU recovery funds, data shows
ROME, March 27 (Reuters) - Italy is proving unable to accelerate its spending of European Union COVID-19 recovery funds, with the latest government data showing it has invested roughly half of the money it has secured so far. By 2026 Rome is due to have received 194.4 billion euros ($209.87 billion) from the EU's so-called Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), but the government is struggling to put the latest windfall to good use due to red tape and administrative delays. As of December 2024 Rome had spent 63.9 billion euros of the 122 billion of EU funds it had received since Brussels began disbursing the cash in instalments in 2021, EU Affairs Minister Tommaso Foti said in a statement on Thursday. When including the seventh instalment worth 18.2 billion euros, for which Italy requested payment to EU authorities at the end of last year, the spending rate stood at 45%, unchanged from June last year. In late 2022, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni targeted investment of around 108 billion by the end of 2024. "Around 92% of the entire plan is in the implementation or closure phase," Foti said in a statement. Opposition parties asked the government for an urgent report to parliament over the implementation of the plan. However, Meloni's office said Italy was first in Europe for total resources received and number of payment requests formalised. Rome had hoped to see a major economic boost from the EU cash, but the euro zone's third largest economy has expanded by just 0.7% in each of the last two years, and economists expect a similar rate this year. Foti said all relevant institutions would make every effort to achieve the objectives needed to unlock the last three instalments worth 54 billion euros. Italy, which has already revised its recovery plan four times, is also negotiating with Brussels a final overhaul with the aim of replacing or downscaling projects that the government will be unable to complete by the 2026 deadline, with others that could be wrapped up within the allowed timeframe. Delays affect dozens of projects in areas including the rollout of ultra-fast broadband networks, high-speed train lines and plans to create more affordable childcare. ($1 = 0.9263 euros)
