Neighbourhood shops: Lawndale Ave, North Rocks

Sitting in a leafy northwest Sydney street, a set of shops has flourished on loyalty and community for decades. Enjoy the return of Corner Store Heroes.

Corinna Chiu and Angelique Vicente at Stonemill Patisserie are newcomers to the Lawndale Ave shops at North Rocks.

A quaint cafe, much-loved pizzeria, art studio and stalwart hairdressers have made the shops at North Rocks a quiet achiever for decades.

Branching off the hectic North Rocks Rd, the small but thriving cluster of shops on Lawndale Ave retain a village presence in the shadow of North Rocks Shopping Centre.

The suburban street is lined with well-manicured lawns, flourishing gardens and picket fences enclosing freestanding bungalows.

The charm continues at our first stop, the Stonemill Patisserie, which, at two years young, is the new kid on the block but appears to have become part of the furniture quite swiftly.

The affable Angelique Vicente is quick to greets customers and point out the special soups of the day.

The enticing vegetable stack at the Stonemill Patisserie.

A steady stream of diners visits for Thursday brunch and lunch, some ordering savoury meals such as burgers and others opt for some of the sweets apprentice pastry chef Corinna Chiu has helped create under the mentorship of owners Michael Koi and Eva Tsoi.

We opt for a very wholesome and satisfying vegetable stack with haloumi cheese and a Seven Miles-blend macchiato.

The Lawndale Ave shops have served locals longer than Westfield (now known as North Rocks Shopping Centre).

Twisted doughnuts, Nutella and jam doughnuts, danishes, lamingtons and caramel slices are inviting options.

Staff at North Rocks Public School take advantage of the cafe, which took over from Copper and Cocoa, being around the corner from their workplace.

“We get a lot of pastry and coffee (orders), a lot of teachers next door grab their lunch, like the quiches, that they can heat up at the school,’’ Vicente said.

Cafe staff enjoy the easygoing pace of Lawndale Ave compared with the chaos of a big mall. “It’s much nicer,’’ French expat Vicente said. “First of all, the customers are so much more relaxed, everyone knows each other, it’s a small community around here.’’

Michelle Gruber, with siblings John and Mary Choueiri, keep the customers happy at MGL Hair Studio.

Her comments were echoed among locals.

“There’s a different ambience being in a small local. It’s easier to park and it’s not so busy,’’ Maria Cummins said, after having lunch at Stonemill with Lorraine Lobsey who agreed some of the bigger shopping malls “can be horrendous’’.

Among Lawndale’s longest serving traders are MGL Hair Studio’s family-run business helmed by Choueiri family matriarch Lisa and her children, hairdressers John and George, and beautician Mary.

Lisa started tending to the tresses of Dundas clients in 1983 before going into business at Carlingford Court for 17 years but when the Myer shut in 2006, they remained in the area and opted for Lawndale Ave the year after.

North Rocks Physiotherapy’s Sandra Fitzgerald is a veteran of the Lawndale Ave business community.

Now they much prefer their existing location, including when Parramatta Council spruced it up about five years ago.

“We’re not restricted like in a shopping centre,’’ John said. “Here we can do our own business hours. We don’t have to open Sunday, we don’t have to open public holidays, there’s a bit more freedom.’’

Some customers have stuck with the Choueiris for 40 years.

“A lot of customers have been coming to us since they were five years old,’’ John said. “It’s a nice community, a nice area. It’s a mixture of nationalities.’’

The Choueiri clan is doing something right besides keeping clients’ coifs in top notch – hairdressers Michelle Gruber and Maria Buchardt have worked alongside Lisa for the past 13 and 25 years respectively.

Other shoppers seeking pampering can find it at Euphoria Skin, which offers high-end skin treatments, while North Rocks Pharmacy’s chemist said customers received “personal service where they can talk to someone without being hurried”.

Another familiar face is Benn Khoury from North Rocks Gourmet Pizza who has taken pride in the slices produced at his family business since 2000, when his late father Joseph switched from plumbing to pizzas shortly after the Olympics.

North Rocks Gourmet Pizza owner Benn Khoury.

“We sell manoosh but we do the Italian-style pizzas,’’ he said, referring to his Lebanese heritage. “I try to make every pizza myself. We make fresh dough every day, fresh ingredients if we won’t eat it, we won’t sell it.” You have to be very consistent and listen to customers.’’

Khoury was born in Ryde, grew up in North Rocks, went to primary school down the road at Christ the King and started working at his dad’s business while he attended high school at Parramatta Marist.

“North Rocks is a little suburb in between big suburbs. There’s no major transport but you can catch a bus to Parramatta and Epping.

“It gets a bit forgotten between the big suburbs but that’s what makes it good … it’s a family suburb.’’

There are 50 options at the dine-in eatery, where a dozen workers are employed, but the locals tend to resist change and favour ham and pineapple pizzas, or any pie topped with chicken.

“We’ve only introduced five pizzas in the last 23 years,’’ Khoury said.

Proving how tight-knit the community is, North Rocks Physiotherapy’s Sandra Fitzgerald has known Khoury since he was a young lad and her daughters went to primary school with her now neighbouring entrepreneur.

“Everyone here’s related or knows each other,’’ she said.

Fitzgerald has been a physiotherapist for “100 years’’.

“I’m the oldest physiotherapist in the world; I graduated in 1974. In those days you worked in the hospital and gradually you go into private practice.’’

Fitzgerald, who points out that the shops were there before Westfield (now North Rocks Shopping Centre) and a National Australia Bank existed, wanted to work school hours and “had a go” at opening the Lawndale Ave business in 1988.

“It’s like a little village tucked away,’’ she said. “It’s a lovely community. It’s a caring environment. We still have a sense of community, I think.’’

Rainbow Tree Art School teacher and artist Emma Petterson.

More than three decades later, the 71-year-old Fitzgerald is hoping to retire this year to care for her mother but hopes a replacement will continue running the service.

A shift in demographics has meant fewer children play soccer or sport in favour of academic activities but she believes a demand is still there for physiotherapy.

At the edge of the shops is a more recent business adding a splash of creativity – Rainbow Tree Art School, which Nathan and Tina Luo own

Artist Emma Petterson teaches children to paint with acrylics, watercolour and charcoal, and adults also unleash their creativity during “paint and sip” classes.

“I just love teaching in this area because there’s so many children from diverse backgrounds and children from different schools – there’s Murray Farm, North Rocks, Christ The King, Carlingford West, Epping West, Burnside.’’

Originally published as Neighbourhood shops: Lawndale Ave, North Rocks