Virgin Blue Review - The Traditionalist

This year, Nino’s & Joe’s celebrates 40 years in the business; Maria has worked here for 37 of those years. Their store in Brunswick’s gritty Victoria Street is your typical Italian family-run, old-school business. There are carcasses out the back, flaying knives out the front and Maria admits, the odd staff tantrum, given their Mediterranean temperaments. On the upside, their pork sausages are reputedly the best around.

The shop grew on the back of a strong working-class Italian and Greek clientele, but as Brunswick changed and became more multicultural, so did Nino’s & Joe’s. Unfortunately, that has meant the demise of some traditional butcher’s skills such as salami-making, smoking meats and charcuterie. “Those things are very labour intensive,” Maria says, “and costly to keep up when demand is no longer there.”

What kept their butcher shop going while others floundered was the family’s commitment to tradition. The store would always source the best meat and bring in the carcasses, and men who were skilled with knives would cut to order. Other stores, however, brought in meat that was pre-pared, ready-sliced and cryovaced (vacuum-packed at very low temperatures) in boxes and they replaced their butchers with counter hands. Those stores ended up closing their doors.

When asked about how technology has had an impact, Maria laughs. “It hasn’t!” she says. “We still do everything by hand, the same way we did it 40 years ago. Well maybe refrigeration has improved since then.

“It can be tough life working seven days a week with early starts and late finishes. It’s hard, physical work. Then up go the interest rates and suddenly everyone’s cutting back on meat. It’s that constant thing for any small business, trying to cover yourself, pay your staff and keep your head above water. However glamorous the cooking shows make it look, it’s not, I assure you.”   

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