Now, two doors down on Mort Street, the dream is starting to come to life, with the opening of The Italian Place Providore and Bottega, a deli and market selling traditional Italian fare, from olive oils, canned fish, tomatoes, speciality drinks, and a range of dried pasta in all shapes and sizes, among many other things.

For Lo Terzo, it's about continuing that connection he has with his loyal customer base. "I like to think if the restaurant is the dining table, this market is the kitchen," he says. "That there's some connection between the two and they'll complement each other."

Indeed, the market is selling meals you can find on the menu two doors down: the popular pork ragu is available to take away with a selection of fresh pastas, there's a lasagne, an eggplant parmigiana.

During COVID The Italian Place did a roaring trade in fresh take home meals with chef Francesco Petrillo and his team run off their feet. That demand gave Lo Terzo some confidence that the idea of the providore would be a success.

Also on board for this project is Andrew McFadzean, from Lerida Estate. He'll help oversee the whole venture and develop his "happy place", a wine collection and tasting room with a focus on Italian and European labels as well as some local wines.

The space is 180 square metres. From the front door, there's a bread station and cabinets full of cakes and pastries and fresh made items for lunch or a quick snack. There's a coffee window out on to Mort St, eventually they'll be high tables where you can enjoy a quick coffee or even a meal and a glass of wine.

The market takes up the bulk of the space, with fresh produce, imported and local goods, refrigerated shelves full of cheeses and meats and the fresh take-home meals.

Next to the large kitchen is a multi-purpose space, there are plans to run cooking classes, wine tastings, special events. There's also talk of grocery deliveries. Lo Terzo said he even had an enquiry about whether they'd be running Italian language classes.