Neighbourhood shops: Constitution Hill Shopping Centre at Emma Cres

A western Sydney cluster of shops is home to a Parisian-inspired bakery with top chefs at the helm, a bottle shop with tarot cards or take up an art class. Enjoy the third instalment of Corner Store Heroes.

The Constitution Hill Shopping Centre is nestled in a western Sydney neighbourhood but you will find international flavours at small businesses including Watch Your Fingers bakery, which is run by husband and wife Nigel and Marion Jeffery who have worked in culinary capitals around the world.

Marion, who was raised in Poitiers in central-west France, met Greystanes boy Nigel at Branston Hall in the UK’s Lincolnshire after he was returning to visit his former workmates.

Marion, whose cookies are her specialty “babies”, worked there after Nigel had left to work at Gordon Ramsay’s Maze restaurant in London.

Marion has also worked at The Athenaeum hotel in London, famed for its high tea.

The pair married in London in 2010 and moved to Nigel’s native western Sydney in 2012.

After selling their delicious sweets at the Richmond and Wentworthville markets, a larger, more established site was needed and they opened Watch Your Fingers in 2015.

“Having worked in London it can be quite impersonal — everyone’s busy in their own little world — but here it’s a little community, which I remember from growing up in the west,’’ Nigel said.

Watch Your Fingers bakery's Nigel and Marion Jeffery with some of their freshly-baked pies.

“Everyone seems to say g’day. During the pandemic everyone was locked up at home and it’s centres like this that were doing well because everyone was looking after each other.’’

Nigel, who has worked at hatted restaurants including Quay, adds: “All the community centres, everyone just banded together.’’

Marion describes her customers as family.

“Some people, we see them every day,’’ she said.

“We see them more than our own family.’’

The bakery is undoubtedly a drawcard at the Emma Cres centre, thanks to gourmet pies, sweet pastries and coffee served with French music in the background for a delightful ambience.

We sampled the lamb, sweet potato and pumpkin pie followed by a smartie cookie washed down with a macchiato on one of the tables outside.

Other pies include the beef brie and dijon (a true reflection of Marion’s French heritage), a spicy kale and feta, and traditional offerings including steak and mushroom, and chicken and leek — all laden with chunky fillings.

All the good stuff at Watch Your Fingers bakery.

Customer Zoya Mkhmelivska declared the shop’s pies the best in Sydney.

“I’m very happy about this place,’’ she said.

“When it was Covid, it was the one beautiful time all day.’’

Sweet pastries include the indulgent apple and cinnamon tarts.

When it comes to bread, the cafe leaves that for the Emma Bakehouse, where you’ll find Vietnamese lunch or breakfast staple banh mi among the usual bakery treats.

Next door is the old-school, no-frills but popular Holee Chinese Take Away, replete with a broad menu including $10 lunch specials and a goldfish tank.

Hairdressers Liz and her daughter Angelina run Beyond Illusionz Hair n Beauty and, after the post-Covid rush to get tresses trimmed, dyed and styled, are eager to see business bounce back to pre-pandemic days.

Liz and her daughter Angelina with client Helen at Beyond Illusionz Hair n Beauty.

Liz bought the business in February 2021, on the cusp of the lockdowns and virus outbreak, and while the shutdown allowed her to have a breather, she is keen to see the shop get busy again.

She has 36 years’ experience after owning salons in Burwood, Bankstown and Enfield.

“We do hair extensions, we do all specifics of hairdressing, we do make up, balayage, it’s a mixed bag here,’’ she said.

At Shop 10 Grocery Store, owner Mohamed Al Kadhimi’s mixed business includes Lebanese bread, Turkish coffee, along with walls of confectionery and toys.

He says 90 per cent of his customers snap up drinks, chocolates and chips.

Shop 10 Grocery Store owner Mohamed Al Kadhimi.

Bottle-O owner Shree Rajouria is all about mixed business too.

He even sells new age crystals and tarot cards alongside the liquor at the shop, which he bought after saying goodbye to this finance career.

“I was looking for a change,’’ he said.

“I was looking for opportunities then Covid happened and realised this might be a good start because people are going to drink regardless.’’

Shree Rajouria from Bottle-O, where customers can find spirits ... and tarot cards.

He has a partnership with Australia Post so customers can collect their parcels from his shop (formerly Craft Cartel Liquor) when the neighbouring post office and newsagency, run by Kavan Patel, closes for the day at 5pm.

When customers aren’t visiting the Constitution Hill Shopping Centre to buy goods, they’re there to learn.

There’s the Astonishing Performing Arts for dancers, Codertainment Coding Academy and the library, which is a branch outlet but spacious and well stocked.

Constitution Hill Library at Constitution Hill Shopping Centre at Emma Cres.

There are plenty of desks (but bring an extended cable to charge your devices), loads of magazines, fiction, non fiction and children’s titles, and DVDs.

Sharlene Cormack fosters the talent for burgeoning artists at Sharz Art Design, her pride and joy for five years.

She worked at Australian Plants Society, which occupied the site where her studio now stands, and saw an opportunity to run classes while putting her degree in visual arts and bachelor of arts to good use.

“My children have grown up in the area and my eldest son is a visual artist and when he was going to school there was nothing for him to tap into so I noticed there was a need for it,’’ she said.

“We instruct in all areas of drawing from basic pencil drawings to more complex mediums like charcoal.

“At the moment most of my clientele are children and they range from four to teenagers and I mentor young adults doing their HSC.’’

There are also oil painting classes for adults.

Cormack, of Toongabbie, enjoys working from the small shopping centre.

“Because of my hours, a big mall doesn’t work for me because a lot of big malls dictate to you what hours you should and shouldn’t open,’’ she said.

Other businesses include The Golden Crust Pizza, St George Dental Care, Bonita Skin Beauty Care, Emma Crescent Pharmacy and Gents Haircuts.

There is a playground near the entrance and the council’s upgrade in 2019 added benches to make the centre more inviting.

Constitution Hill Shopping Centre at Emma Cres.