Lindsay Fox hails Malvern’s Fleisher Cakes owner after hearing of his support for seniors
From fitness to food, we’ve highlighted inner eastern businesses that have adapted to stay open during the crisis. One Malvern bakery even got a shoutout from Australian trucking magnate Lindsay Fox.
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Businesses across Stonnington are finding innovate ways to get their products and services to customers during the coronavirus shut down.
From fitness, to food, to home decor and entertainment, traders across the municipality are working hard to keep their staff in jobs and their businesses afloat.
We’ve compiled a list of businesses that have flipped their business models and hit the ground running, but there are plenty of others out there to explore.
So, keep the community spirit alive by shopping local, and let us know in the comments below if there are any other businesses our readers should be checking out during lockdown.
Fleisher Cakes (Malvern)
Three decades in the hospitality industry may have taught Fleisher Cakes owner Pino Marmina how to craft the perfect pastry or brew an amazing cup of coffee, but it couldn’t have prepared him for a pandemic.
His Glenferrie Rd business is now offering takeaway for all their favourite menu items, including schnitzels, rice balls, lasagne and, of course, cakes.
It took a bit of adjustment, but he said the new business model was gaining traction.
They’ve also started selling discounted bread, flour, sugar and eggs to seniors, which Mr Marmina said was his way of supporting the community during a difficult time.
“It’s what we get it at cost price and we’re just moving it along,” Mr Marmina said.
“Elderly customers are a good part of our customer base so we just thought, ‘what can we do?’.”
Their generosity attracted a kind word from logistics magnate and Toorak billionaire Lindsay Fox, who Mr Marmina said recently called him to personally thank him.
He said Mr Fox told him he was a “true blue Australian” and the country “needed more people” like him. He said the gratitude from one of Australia’s richest men floored him.
“For him to take time out of his day to call me really meant a lot,” Mr Marmina said.
The Green Goose (Malvern)
For those who can’t or don’t want to cook, there are plenty of cafe and restaurant options to choose from during the coronavirus shutdown.
The Green Goose in Malvern is one of many Stonnington cafes that have chosen to keep operating, and their takeaway menu has lots to offer.
Con Antonotoulos, who runs and owns the cafe with his wife Gabrijela, said their home-cooked lasagne, scalloped potatoes, chicken curries, soup, tagine, salmon patties and much more had proven a hit with customers.
The couple live on site and had previously offered a take away home cooked meal service in addition to their cafe offering, so Mr Antonotoulos said adjusting their business model wasn’t too difficult.
“The beauty is we had all the recipes, we just reintroduced it back into the cafe,” he said.
“Gabi my wife does all the food side of things … I do front of house and she does the back of house, so she does all the hard work and I do all the talking.”
Mr Antonotoulos said they were also selling coffee beans and pods, packets of Prana Chai, milk, eggs and other basics to customers, with most people choosing to pick up direct from the shop.
The Green Goose will mark 10 years in the business in September. Follow them on social media to see mouth-watering photos of their latest culinary creations.
Body Lab Physiotherapy & pilates (Armadale)
Australia has a fitness obsession and keeping active is an essential part of staying healthy, both physically and mentally, while stuck inside, Body Lab’s Kate McGillivray says.
Ms McGillivray’s High St business offers online pilates sessions for people to tune in, stay motivated and keep their fitness goals on track.
Classes cater to all ages and fitness levels, ranging from professional athletes to people 60 and older who need help with gentle strengthening, balance and mobility.
“For all of our clients, none of them are used to being completely inactive and they’re suddenly constrained within the confines of their house,” Ms McGillivray said.
“If you take all of that away, the impact on their physical and mental wellbeing is huge.”
Her business also conducts online physio appointments and specialised sessions for young gymnasts and professional athletes, including divers hoping to stay in shape for next year’s Tokyo Olympics.
And Ms McGillivray said her mum and dad classes scheduled three nights a week at 8pm had proven so popular she was considering keeping them on once things returned to normal.
“A lot of people have said they love it, it’s convenient and efficient,” she said.
Body Lab is also selling some fitness equipment online including resistance bands, foam rollers, trigger point balls and magic circles.
Plant One On Me (Armadale)
Now we’re all spending more time at home, Plant One On Me shop owner Doron Gafni says it could be the perfect opportunity to introduce a some more greenery to the household.
Indoor plants brightened up a room and made it feel fresh, he said, and caring for them was also a great way to manage stress and anxiety.
“Adding leafy friends to a space is proven to improve air quality, just ask NASA or me. NASA has established a list of top air-purifying worthy plants,” Mr Doron said
“The actual need to care for them can take your mind off the everyday issues and I can personally guarantee that cleaning a devil’s ivy’s 100 plus leaves is very therapeutic.”
People were welcome to visit the store to “fondle” his plants, and he’d recently started offering free web chat plant consultations to customers.
“(It) works beautifully because I can show them the full range of plants in the shop and they can show me the exact location where the plants are going,” he said.
“I can assess the light conditions on the spot and recommend the perfect plant for them and also the style of pot to suit the design of the house.”
Good indoor plants for low light conditions included devil’s ivy and peace lilies, he said, while the plant options for medium to highlight conditions were “endless”.
The Windsor Workshop (Chapel St, Windsor)
Keeping the children entertained while stuck indoors can be tough, but the ladies at The Windsor Workshop have parents covered.
They’re hosting a pinata making class on Zoom to mark World Pinata Day on April 18 and co-founder Belinda Galloway said they were planning to host further online sessions in the future.
“I think what we’ll be doing is creating some craft boxes … and then posting online tutorials,” she said.
“I think if you talk to a therapist or people who work in the mental health sector, the whole idea of keeping your hands busy to still your mind is very prevalent.”
Those tuning in to this Saturday’s session received a list of materials they would need as well as a Mexican-themed Spotify playlist and a Margarita recipe for the adults.
Ms Galloway said the idea was to create an activity that both parents and their children could enjoy, and future sessions could see attendees sent a craft box filled with everything they needed, including a couple of extras like a bottle of wine and chocolate.
The Windsor Workshop hosts arts and craft sessions on everything from embroidery and ceramics to gin masterclasses.
To find out more about them and their future craft sessions visit their website and join their mailing list.
Vision Personal Training (Prahran)
Gyms are closed but that doesn’t mean health nuts need to give up on their fitness routines, Vision Personal Training owner Nathan Weidemann says.
His gym is providing personal one-on-one training sessions via Zoom as well as hosting online group workouts.
While some gym junkies had resorted to watching YouTube fitness videos while in social isolation, he said his one-on-one and small group sessions were much more effective at correcting people’s form and keeping them motivated.
He also provide nutritional advice and hosts regular virtual check-ins with clients to ensure their fitness routines are on track.
And he said his new clients who signed up during the coronavirus shutdown were sent resistance band kits, while existing clients had been given equipment from his own gym floor to keep them moving.
Chapel Street Precinct Association general manager Chrissie Maus said it was important the community supported businesses during the shutdown.
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Many Chapel St traders including cafes, restaurants, homewares, nurseries, fitness studios and clothing stores were still open for business, she said.
Entertainment venues such as Chapel off Chapel are also live streaming shows, while Chasers Nightclub is selling its own brand of hand sanitiser, according to the CSPA’s new blog Lemonade out of Lemons
And Ms Maus suggested customers check out the blog regularly for daily updates on what their favourite traders were doing to stay open during the shutdown.
Prahran Market (South Yarra)
Stonnington’s favourite market, Prahran Market, has launched a home delivery service so customers can order the fresh produce they love from the comfort and safety of their home.
The delivery service was initially launched as a one week trial last month, but the market’s general manager Simon Ward said deliveries would continue.
“What it has done is show us that, now more than ever, there is an unmet demand for the home delivery of healthy, fresh food and drink,” Mr Ward said.
“And while, in the past, home delivery has been viewed as a convenience, we see it as a necessity in order to assist and support our customers in doing the right thing both for themselves and the broader community.”
Customers simply phone their favourite trader and place an order for anything from meat and fish to fruit and vegetables and the goods will be collected, packaged up and delivered the next day.
Orders can be made with multiple traders at once and deliveries are made to homes within a 5km radius of the market.
Further details can be found on the Prahran Market website.
Villique (Toorak)
People may be forced to stay at home, but that doesn’t mean the have to live in their trackies and pyjama tops.
Debra Green, owner of the Villique clothing store in Toorak Village, said taking time to show a little self love was important in stressful times such as these.
“My store is basically all imports … it’s sort of classic with a twist,” Ms Green said.
“People want to get out and at least be able to indulge themselves.”
She stocks European designs from labels based in countries such as Spain, Italy and Germany.
Ms Green said also she’d recently received some beautiful knits from New Zealand that were guaranteed to keep customers warm and looking good when winter set in.
She stocks only a few sizes of each design, so customers better get in quick to get their hands on their favourite piece.
And while Ms Green said the coronavirus had decimated foot traffic along the Toorak Village shopping strip — she predicts her business will be down 95 per cent this month — she said she was still taking requests for personal one-on-one styling appointments.
She’s also planning to sell vouchers people can cash in at her store when the shut down is lifted so she can keep a cash flow coming in.
To check out her latest stock head to her Instagram page. Phone Ms Green on 0411 147 358 to arrange a styling appointment or to purchase a voucher.