L’Unico Trattoria Italiano celebrates 30 years at Trinity Beach

A stalwart in the community, L’Unico Trattoria Italiano will celebrate three decades of delicious service. So, what’s its recipe for success?

Trinity Beach Italian restaurant L'Unico Trattoria is celebrating 30 years of business. Picture: Brendan Radke

Service from the heart and a love for the community has been the driving force for Trinity Beach staple L’Unico Trattoria Italiano who will celebrate 30 years next month.

The well-known Italian restaurant has been a stalwart in the area, with co-owners Matthew Turner and Stuart Spencer watching the beachside suburb take shape from their cornerside eatery for more than two decades.

Mr Spencer started as a bartender after having a drink at the restaurant bar almost 30 years ago.

By 1999, he had bought into the business.

“The original owner, I met him through a coffee supplier down in Brisbane and I bought into the business and one thing leads to another,” Mr Spencer said.

L'Unico Trattoria owners and hospitality stalwarts and good mates Matthew Turner and Stuart Spencer are proud to have served generations of Cairns locals at their seaside Italian restaurant. Picture: Brendan Radke

“A lot has changed since then. Trinity Beach was a fraction of what it is now.”

Mr Spencer said one of the biggest changes was watching as families brought young children to the restaurant who would in turn bring their own children.

“I’ve held kids around the restaurant that now have their engagement parties here and now they’ve got kids,” said Mr Spencer.

Co-owner Matthew Turner said the restaurant was more than just a business.

“It’s a business, but it’s a lot more in that it’s part of the fabric of the community,” Mr Turner said.

“People have come here, as 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 year olds got married, had kids and now their kids are coming here.”

So what’s the secret to their success?

“I think the secret to any Italian restaurant is the simplicity of the food and friendly family service,” Mr Turner said.

“We have fun and that culture within this venue comes with being a trattoria, but it also comes from the people that have been involved in this restaurant as owners and staff.”

Mr Turner added they had a moral responsibility to ensure the local community had a space to mark their own milestones.

“You bring the combination of weddings, birthdays, marriages and things like that, and you step back on a human level and go wow, we’re a little bit more than just an Italian restaurant, you know?” he said.

“We host so many wakes here because for some people, we’ve been their restaurant for so many years, so there’s a big emotional attachment.”

Originally published as L’Unico Trattoria Italiano celebrates 30 years at Trinity Beach