IT’S GOOD TO LIVE IN AUSTRALIA

Interview with Chris Parisi.

My father left Italy for a better future in Australia. Achieving this dream was hard, as he had to leave behind my mother, who was his fiancée at the time.

Dad arrived in Australia in 1950 and had to work two jobs, as most migrants did when they first arrived. He did the night shift at a factory and then woke up before dawn to work in a fruit and vegetable store seven days a week.

My father knew his future was to be in business so in 1954, together with his brother Bob, they purchased the first store and named it Parisi Brothers.

Together they built a strong brand selling the highest quality fresh produce. Based in South Strathfield, they connected with the cream of the crop with their loyal Strathfield clientele.

In 1979, my father stepped away from his brothers and we opened Parisi in Burwood. I felt that the business was very much in my blood as we grew up living above the original Parisi Bros store and fresh fruit and veg seemed to surround us from a young age. That is, my brothers Dom and John, my sister Felicia, my parents and myself.

My dream was always to be in the most lucrative suburb of Sydney and my brothers were eager to join me, so in 1981 we moved the Parisi brand to Rose Bay in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.

We started with a small store, however the Parisi brand quickly grew a huge reputation for quality. In 1985 we invested in a 600 square meter purpose-built store. It was such an instant success that in only four years we had to extend by another 300 square meters.

We traded with huge growth for years and started to purchase properties adjacent to our store. The vision was realised in 2010 when we opened the famous Parisi Food Hall.

By this time Parisi became the leading brand in Fruit and Vegetable fresh produce supplier in Sydney.

We won accolades year after year. I personally featured regularly on Good Morning Australia on Channel 7 and did a cooking segment with Lindy Milan. We also did market reports on national radio as a trusted brand in the industry. Parisi has also been featured in Good Living Food multiple times.

We were and are a proud family of our name and product and all of this has come about because we were lucky enough to get to call Australia home.