After almost 40 years of slinging cheap pizza, pasta and gelato to hordes of hungry families in Melbourne’s inner-north, the birthplace of one of Melbourne’s most recognisable restaurant chains will close its doors to the public this weekend for good.
Taken over in 1985 by Rocco “Rocky” Pantaleo and fellow Italian migrant Felice Nania, the La Porchetta restaurant on Rathdowne Street spawned dozens of franchised outlets around the country over the following decades.
After almost 40 years in business, the original La Porchetta pizza restaurant in Carlton North is closing down. Credit: Jason South
But Pantaleo family members Natalina and Azzurra took to social media on Monday morning to announce the closure of the flagship restaurant. “We would like to inform you all that the original family will be moving on and closing the doors,” they said in the post, announcing February 11 would be the final day of trading.
“Rocky and his family have been serving delicious and affordable Italian pizza and pasta dishes with all their love and passion since the early 1980s,” the post said.
“Their dedication created an institution in the hospitality sector and a standard for Italian restaurant franchising in Australia.
“However, it’s time for the family to move on to new beginnings and pursue new ventures.”
The La Porchetta name boasted at least 80 franchised outlets in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia in 2010. Today, there are almost 30 La Porchetta restaurants in Victoria, three in Queensland, one in NSW and four in New Zealand, according to the company’s website.
The Pantaleo family did not respond to requests for further comment, but the La Porchetta head office confirmed only the Carlton North restaurant was closing and the dozens of other La Porchetta franchised restaurants would continue trading.
La Porchetta’s notorious co-founder, Calabrian-born Rocky Pantaleo, was killed in 2010 in a traffic accident at the age of 53.
Following his death, there was major restructuring inside the La Porchetta business, after which The Age reported alleged connections to organised crime.
Customers outside a closed La Porchetta in 2010 on the day then-owner Rocco Pantaleo (inset) was killed in a motorcycle crash in St Kilda.Credit: Rebecca Hallas; Paul Rovere
There is no suggestion Natalina Pantaleo and Azzurra Pantaleo have connections to organised crime. In 1996, Pantaleo pulled out a gun, shot and killed a man who was bashing the restaurateur for sexually assaulting a teenaged La Porchetta waitress.
Pantaleo was convicted of three counts of indecent assault and fined $10,000 but escaped a murder charge when a coroner accepted he had acted in self-defence.
The enormous Rathdowne Street restaurant is unmissable with its hand-painted signage (“Pizza No. 1 in Australia”) across the three-store frontage, which in recent times has been covered in graffiti.
Inside, the ceilings and walls are plastered with photographs of family members, customers and celebrities, while Vespa motorcycles and other Italian memorabilia hang from the ceiling.
Dozens of customers posted messages of sadness about the announcement on Monday, many sharing memories of long lunches and major family gatherings at the restaurant over the past three decades.
Besha Rodell, chief restaurant critic for The Age and Good Weekend, said the legacy of La Porchetta as a large, affordable, tavern-style restaurant for families was significant and not often given credit by food critics.
“They really represented this style of Italian Australian and Melbourne Italian that I think has real cultural significance and is still present along Lygon Street to an extent,” she said. “We – the foodie snobs – tend to pooh-pooh and look down on [it], but it really is a unique expression of the Italian diaspora.”
The statue outside the original La Porchetta has stood on Rathdowne Street during trading hours for years.Credit: Angela Wylie
While it’s unclear whether low patronage factored into the decision to close the business, Rodell said Rathdowne Street was now a bastion for high-quality cafes and wine bars and it would “make sense” if the demographics of Carlton no longer lent itself to the kind of family fare on offer at La Porchetta.
“There’s just so much competition now and so much quality,” she said. “And there are less big family groups – who could afford to live in that neighbourhood with a big family? Now it’s young professionals in tiny homes.”
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