Burying and Celebrating Ghosts

December 1998

Memories are tricky things, they can enrich the experience of being in a place or they can just make people nostalgic for times long past. So taking over a building or business which has a long established reputation can be a mixed blessing.

However in the case of the Florentino, it's perhaps more a case of going back into the family, an Italian family that is, when the Grossis take over next year from Lorraine Podgornik.

The Grossi family (currently owners of Caffe Grossi, Epoca and Pietro's) exchanged contracts last week on the lease of the long established Bourke St restaurant. Settlement will not take place until March and the family expect to concentrate their restaurant activity on the one site.

"It is really three businesses in one, with the Grill, Cellar Bar and Restaurant," explained Guy Grossi.

Grossi said that his family have long been attracted to Florentino and that his father, Pietro, had a strong association with the Massoni family, founders of Florentino. "There is no better site for our business, the place has such a long tradition and a feeling that you can't re-produce. If there are ghosts, I hope they will be friendly ones." Certainly it would seem that the family has the friendship and support of Melburnians. "We've received dozens of letters and faxes and flowers from people supporting our take over of Florentino's," said Grossi.

It's no wonder that Melbourne supports this move, the Bourke St site has been home to an Italian restaurant since 1928 as was the Society (originally established 3 years earlier in Exhibition St before moving to Number 23 Bourke St. opposite the Florentino in 1932). Founded by Guiseppe Codognotto, and subsequently run by his son Rino before the lease was sold in 1984, it was re-named in July this year for the first time in 60 years. Now the Republique Brasserie, it has changed its street face and the style of the menu. But for new owner, Denis Sammut, the Society Room on the first floor of Republique is definitely a place for those who remember and love the Society Restaurant as it was with the large windows almost touching the spreading tree branches and commanding a good view of the comings and goings of nearby Parliament House. When started by the Codognotto family (who still own the building) the Society was not licensed. One of their early customers recalls going out to the kitchen to get a glass of wine as you couldn't drink at the table. These days our licensing laws allow the reverse, you can drink without eating in many licensed establishments, once only the province of the hotels.

It's also a strange irony that now it'sIain Hewitson's bar at Tolarno's which is the focal point of the former gallery and food based business of artist Mirka Mora and her late husband, George on St Kilda's Fitzroy St.

Iain recalls going there when he first came to Melbourne from New Zealand in the early '70's. "It was always filled with artists, they would come for lunch and then stay for the week." These days there are heaps more restaurants and cafes in St Kilda and the hotels, notably the Prince of Wales opposite and the Tolarno itself, have been renovated and are now attracting business and tourist visitors rather then hate bohemian clientele of years gone by.

Bill Marchetti says of The Latin (Marchetti's Latin in Lonsdale Street) that "you can feel in the walls that people have been enjoying themselves here for over a hundred years." The building has been an Italian cafe since 1896, first as Rinaldi's Cucina Italiana then as Cafe d'Italia and then The Latin for many years run by the Triaca family until Bill and his first wife, Cheryl, took over in 1984. Along with this history, Bill inherited customers who had been loyal to The Latin since they were children. "Some of them have now died, but some have been celebrating their birthdays and anniversaries here for 50 years." There is still a group of men who meet on Fridays at lunch times, a habit going back to when they were university students. "They always sit at Table 17, no matter how many they are. The table only seats four and sometimes there are 12 of them sitting with food on their laps." The idiosyncrasies of some of the long standing Latin customers means that "only seasoned staff are allowed near certain tables." Makes for tricky business but one which Bill seems to relish. "It might be easier in some ways to start with a clean slate, but it's so good to have something which is a piece of Melbourne's history." Marchetti's Latin is now closed.