Frank Goldstein: Pie king inducted into Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards Hall of Fame

The latest inductee into the Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards has a familiar name to anyone interested in biting into a meat pie.

FRANK Goldstein’s relationship with the family business that bears his surname could have ended more than a decade ago.

Frank, 76, who is the 14th person in Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards Hall of Fame after being inducted at the weekend, offered to sell his share in the early 2000s to older brother John.

But fate intervened. John’s wife fell ill to cancer and he left the business.

“He was going to buy the business and we had it all worked out,” Frank said.

“I was quite happy to leave and then he told me, ‘I’m going to sell up to take care of my wife’.”

Frank Goldstein (centre) flanked by sons Martin Goldstein (left) and Joshua Goldstein (right) with a special cake made for the 70th year celebration of the business.

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Frank picked up the reins and a decade-and-a-half later stills remains involved, although the day-to-day running of the operations is left to his two sons Joshua and Martin.

The business was started by Frank’s parents Julius and Paula on the Gold Coast in 1957 called Continental Cakes and was enormously popular with the city’s emigrant community, many of whom were survivors of the Holocaust.

“We opened up in Surfers and we could not believe the business from the word go,” Frank said.

“You had all these Jewish elderly people at Surfers Paradise. In fact sometimes it was called Surfers Palestine.”

When his father Julius died in his arms in the bakery in 1962 from complications caused by diabetes, Frank and John decided to change the name.

Frank Goldstein is a passionate Gold Coaster who remains heavily involved in the community. Picture: Regi Varghese

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Julius never would have considered changing the name to Goldsteins, however, Frank and John, were both immensely proud of their heritage and wanted something that reflected a wider range of products than Continental Cakes.

“Pie sales were increasing and continental cakes were decreasing because all our older (holocaust) survivors that came to Australia (were dying off).”

The move into meat pies was an inspired one that raised the profile of Goldsteins Bakery and led to a number of award wins.

In 1968 Goldsteins opened its second store in the Sundale Shopping Centre, at that time one of the first major shopping centres in Australia.

The Goldsteins name is as familiar to Gold Coasters as meat pies.

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Its store network now numbers 12 with 125 employees.

Frank and John have both been highly involved in the community. The latter was a catalyst for the creation of the Gold Coast Marathon event while the former has been a longtime member of the Surfers Paradise Rotary Club and the Southport Freemasons.

It hasn’t been an easy year for the pie maker. In April he was hospitalised after a horror jetski accident on Easter weekend that left him with three broken backbones and eight broken ribs. His brother John, who was unharmed, had left the handle drawn in and on full power causing the accident.

John took Frank on a holiday to Vanuatu to say sorry for the accident where after boarding the aircraft the pair noticed they had passed immigration using each other’s passport.

“We called the hostess over and asked her to check them and give them back to whoever she thought was the owner,” he said.

Goldsteins figurehead Frank Goldstein has been inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards. Picture: Mike Batterham

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“And you won’t believe it. She gave John my passport and gave me his.

“The whole holiday we were laughing our heads off about it. People were looking at us thinking we were twins.”
He said changing consumer tastes has meant Goldsteins has had to move with the times. This means offering gluten-free and vegan versions of its products.

Sometimes old favourites, such as pink pig cakes, make a comeback.

“A lot of the older people when they were young used to buy them. So we bring them back for a limited period.”

Frank remains passionate about business and the current climate.

He rails against the State Government’s payroll tax, something he feels should be applied more evenly to other businesses such as franchise stores.

“Last year the payroll tax almost wiped out the profit of the company. I can’t pay my staff the increase in wages they deserve because of payroll tax.”

However, he remains confident about the future of Goldstein’s under his sons.

“Third generation family ownership is notorious for letting the business go,” he said.

“I can’t imagine this not being under a Goldsteins brand or ownership because there is pride of ownership and pride in the product.”

Frank, who attended the Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards, with a host of close friends said winning the award was “the highlight of my life”.