Voula’s North Hobart store rises again as a boutique bottle shop

THE much-loved store of late North Hobart grocer Voula Delios will re-emerge as a new business.

Blackhearts & Sparrows founders Paul and Jessica Ghaie are opening the boutique bottle shop in the former store of North Hobart stalwart Voula Delios.

THE much-loved store of late North Hobart grocer Voula Delios will re-emerge as a boutique bottle shop.

Melbourne-based wine specialists Blackhearts and Sparrows, who have eight stores in Victoria and the ACT, will open their first Tasmanian venture on the Elizabeth St site.

Brother and sister team Paul and Jessica Ghaie say they will consider an in-store tribute to Mrs Delios, who was stabbed to death in the store two years ago this week.

Voula Delios with her son Michael in the former A and B Food Store in North Hobart.

Mr Ghaie told the Mercury he was unaware of the store’s tragic history when he first noticed it for lease on a real estate website, but was now considering ways to ensure Mrs Delios is remembered.

“A coat of paint only covers so much, so I think it’s important to not pretend that what happened didn’t happen there,” he said. “We are talking about a way to do that.”

The new tenants hope they can become part of the increasingly funky North Hobart community, and fill a hole in the market for specialist wines.

“Even though we’re on the boutique spectrum, it’s not elitist and it’s not just for people who have money or have spent a year studying away in France,” Mr Ghaie said. “It’s going to be a store for everyone.

“That was important for the Delios family and for us.”

PUSH FOR NORTH HOBART ‘TRIBUTE’ TO VOULA DELIOS

The Delios family, who still own the property, have given the new venture their seal of approval after council approved it last month.

A community group of local businesses and residents had proposed to reopen the shop as a grocery co-op, but eventually opted against the move.

COMMUNITY PLANNING FOR FRESH FOOD STORE

It is considering other premises and has spoken with grocery retailers in a bid to plug a gap for local shoppers.

“We would love a good-minded building owner or proprietor to come forward,” Hobart Alderman Helen Burnet said.

“It would be our dream to be able to work co-operatively with someone who has the right building to provide that opportunity and that choice of good food.”

Blackhearts and Sparrows will hire up to six local staff and, with renovation work under way, expect to open their doors in late spring or early summer. “It was a nice little hub in the community there that was really well loved and frequented by many,” Mr Ghaie said. “We definitely want to retain that.”

Daryl Royston Wayne Cook, 36, of Claremont, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mrs Delios and is expected to face trial in the Supreme Court in Hobart in September.