Neighbourhood shops: Picasso Shopping Plaza, Old Toongabbie

Get ready for a blast from the past as we visit an old school milk bar that’s served its community for over 50 years. Enjoy the fourth instalment of Corner Store Heroes.

Joanne Vella

@Parramatta_News

3 min read

July 11, 2022 - 10:32AM

Parramatta Advertiser

Corner Store Heroes: Picasso Shopping Plaza Old Toongabbie

NSW

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As she walks out of the vet clinic with her cat, Gael Walker spruiks how much she loves the Picasso Shopping Plaza at Old Toongabbie.

“These shops are the best,’’ she said.

“I go to this hairdresser and they are the best. I’ve always gone to this vet and he’s excellent.

“These girls (at the cafe) are the loveliest girls, all through Covid everyone would line up and they got us a coffee.

“This coffee shop was our lifeline during Covid because they were excellent.

“I always give these shops a rap.’’

Gael Walker is a regular customer at Picasso Shopping Plaza.

In case you were in doubt about Walker’s stance on the coffee from the Memphis 9 Cafe, she crowned it as the best in the world.

The cafe draws a steady stream of customers collecting their caffeine fix on the morning we visit while others have time for a more leisurely chat and breakfast inside the bright, inviting space that seats just under 20.

Memphis 9 Cafe at Picasso Shopping Plaza at Old Toongabbie.

When it’s time to step down memory lane, there’s no bypassing Picasso Take Away, which beckons us with its ice cream posters and the kind of treats that are becoming an endangered species: Chiko rolls, hamburgers, fish and chips and a myriad of milkshakes.

Step through the plastic curtains flapping away and you’ll find a retro looking stainless steel milkshake maker with large paper cups at the ready and your staple snacks — scallops, spring rolls, fish cocktails — waiting to be plunged into the deep fryer.

Their hot chips, sprinkled with your choice of regular or chicken salt, are supreme.

The shop gets the tradie tick of approval from Jake Holman and Brian Kershaw, who refuel at the milk bar while taking a break from their lawn mowing duties.

Jake Holman and Brian Kershaw get ready to tuck into some lunch at Picasso Take Away.

Holman points out how you can order using a QR code but today, he and his workmate are ordering in person and waiting for their pub-style buzzer to signal when it’s time to collect their bacon and egg rolls and steak sandwiches.

“It’s modernised but has that nostalgic feel to the milk bar,’’ Holman said.

“Whenever we’re here there’s usually other tradies when we’re here. We’re not fussy; we look wherever there’s parking.’’

Kershaw likes how fresh the tucker is.

“Sometimes you get sick of eating at McDonald’s even though this is fast food,’’ he said.

Holman adds: “It’s more like home cooked fast food rather than driving around getting nuggets.’’

Picasso Shopping Plaza has been a mainstay at Old Toongabbie for decades.

At Old Toongabbie Veterinary Clinic, Dr Brian Chan has treated furry friends for 12 years and loves his four-legged clients, and their friendly owners.

“Personally, I like it better than the other places I went to work,’’ he said.

“I’ve been to the Central Coast, Hurstville, Bexley.

“I don’t want to say the people over there are worse but the people around here are more easygoing. It’s actually a laid-back area.

“As far as their love of animals, it’s the same.’’

Dr Chan purchased the business 12 years ago after he moved to Toongabbie.

He lives further northwest now but still has connections to the community beyond his workplace.

“My kids go to school locally anyway so everyone knows each other,’’ he said.

“We were more routed here.’’

Receptionist Freya Cade is also a dedicated employee and worked there for a dozen years under the previous vet.

“I actually went to school with the previous owner’s daughter, so I’ve known the previous owner since kindergarten,’’ she said.

Haircraft owner Gema Spinney, who tends to the tresses of customers with her mum Vikki Nichols and Leanne Green, has worked at the salon for 16 years.

“It’s just nice and convenient,’’ she said.

“It’s not in a big shopping centre, there’s easy parking and the customers know each other. They come in for a little gasbag.’’

Bliss Beauty Skin Clinic’s Anna Gurung chose the plaza to be closer to home to look after her nine-year-old daughter Bianna, and like her fellow traders, loves the parking and the quiet but bustling location.

“It’s a tiny area — everyone knows everyone,’’ she said.

While she was initially supposed to open a shop near the train station, she is glad she has opened a business at Picasso, where she opened in November 2019.