Slav’s fruit and veg defies supermarkets and time

The major supermarkets have just about cornered everything, but at Coffs Harbour there’s still a place for family-run businesses like Slav’s Fruit & Veg. See how they’ve developed a cult-like fan base.

Like TV character ‘Con the Fruiterer’ - stand-alone fruit and veg shops are largely a thing of the past, but Coffs Harbour is standing staunch.

Thirty years ago almost every town had a greengrocer, today, they are as rare as they are treasured.

None more so than Slav’s Fruit & Veg, run by a young local family in Tony and Charni Slaviero.

Harvesting the dragonfruit from the spiky plants is no easy task for Tony Slaviero. Photo: Chris Knight.

They’ve withstood the rush of time and the stifling competition of the supermarkets - and in the process built a cult-like following to their kerbside stand on Coramba Road.

Mr Slaviero is a former plumber who downed the pipes for the pomelos eight years ago when he came back to run the family’s 17-acre farm.

He started working the big markets with produce fresh from his home: bananas, custard apples, jackfruit, dragonfruit, guavas, pomelos, mandarins and oranges.

When it’s in season, it decks out the roadside stand which opens Tuesdays and Saturdays.

“But we carry everything. Anything we don’t have on farm we’ll try and source whatever we can close by locally - or we’ll buy it in from the Brisbane or Sydney markets. We’ll shop around,” Mr Slaviero said.

The demise of local fruit shops across the land in the age of supermarkets makes Slav’s something of the Last of the Mohicans (an online search for fruit and veg stores at Coffs Harbour reveals only a few left).

Mr Slaviero and his uncle George work the farm, while Mrs Slaviero is all across their social media (their Facebook page has 1.1k followers).

“We have good loyal and local customers, plus we get the occasional out-of-towners and holiday-makers,” Mr Slaviero said.

“We had one lady from Glen Innes who drove down on Christmas Eve just to get her things.”

Slav’s point-of-difference to the major supermarkets is that “it’s local, seasonal, and we try and do it for the best price possible”, he said.

“We also do home deliveries and if someone’s after something particular that we don’t have we’ll try and get it in for them.

“It’s a lot of work but it’s just good to see your regulars happy with the produce.”