Vince Garreffa on Beaufort Street.
Camera IconVince Garreffa on Beaufort Street. Credit: Supplied/Dominique Menegaldo

Suburb a secret no more

Anne Gartner, Guardian ExpressEastern Reporter

Over the past 16 years, his business Mondo’s has been the iconic shop in the area, drawing a broad range of people further along Beaufort Street.

But Mr Garreffa said while he was happy to help put ‘Inglewood on the map’, he was excited about future developments.

‘There is such an eclectic mix of nationalities and persuasions,’ he said. ‘The growth is not at break-neck speed but more things are happening.

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‘Inglewood was struggling for a while but it is starting to come of age. Whereas Mt Lawley is becoming a traffic jam, with problems associated with getting in and out and parking in the area, in Inglewood you are not trapped.’

Mr Garreffa said the reinvestment in the area and council support was having an influence on developing the small suburb. ‘The future is strong and the development going in 8th Avenue, although I think it is a few years late, is happening,’ he said.

‘The surrounding areas all feed into Inglewood. I remember when there were 17 butcher shops in the Inglewood area. Now we are the only one. But diversity is what you need.’

Mr Garreffa, who has lived in the area for 37 years, is often seen behind the counter at his butchery on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Beaufort Street and helping serve meat sandwiches on Saturday mornings.

It is these meat sandwiches, 400 of which are served each weekend, that have become a drawcard for customers.

‘One day during Christmas we noticed people were waiting a long time in the queue and couple of them called the store from the line saying ‘you don’t have a number system and I am worried that if I leave I will miss out’,’ Mr Garreffa said.

‘So my wife sent them out a sandwich. The next year we decided to send a sandwich out to anyone who had to wait longer than 15 minutes.

‘We trialled it for about four weeks and that was when we realised the sandwiches were going to be as popular as getting dim sum on a Sunday in Chinatown.

‘It has helped put Inglewood on the map.’