The Ardenti family came to Australia in 1967, from Rome, Italy. Bruno and his wife Assunta and their two children Anna Maria and Alex, all headed down under, on the advice of Bruno`s sister, Lola Comelli. Bruno had run his own caffe`bar in Rome. He had the bar for several years and with that came a lot of experience in the hospitality industry.
When he arrived in Australia, Bruno got a job at the Port Kembla Steel Works. He was also a waiter at The Fraternity Club at Fairy Meadow. He did both jobs for several years.
Bruno was lucky enough to get a loan in 1971. The bank manager liked and trusted him, especially with his expertise, having worked in the industry in Italy. Bruno and his wife Assunta purchased the Luccarda wedding reception centre and boarding house. It was ideal because it still had part of the original house attached, enabling the family to move in and live on site.
So Bruno got to work. The reception centre was completely renovated. Walls were gutted, new ones added, new carpet, wall paper and art work. Bulldozers excavated the land, the car park was extended and a new driveway was put in. New equipment was purchased as well.
Whilst the renovations were happening, the boarding house was still running. The boarders were given three meals per day. They didn’t have access to the main kitchen, but they were supplied with everything that they needed. The boarding house was a side to the main business of the reception centre and restaurant.
The kitchen was upgraded to almost double the size, with some new equipment, as well as the addition of a dry store and a cool room. There were newly built bars and a restaurant fit out too. They were working under time constraints and with a schedule, because Bruno`s had wedding receptions that were pre-booked from the Luccarda function centre sale/purchase.
Approximately six months later Bruno`s restaurant and reception centre was ready for service. With the remodelling now completed the wedding receptions started almost immediately. The wedding receptions were large from the beginning with many of them being Southern Italian or Yugoslavian.
Assunta worked in the kitchen and Bruno would run the floor and co-ordinate the functions. Bruno hired a French chef called Bernard and had approximately 4- 5 women employed to work in the kitchen.
Alex, Bruno`s son, has so many fond memories of those days. He loved the weddings as the family lived on site, Alex attended many wedding receptions too. So many children were at the receptions and Alex would come out during the night and they would all play together and have lots of fun.
Alex and I spoke at great length and I too commented on my memories of the wedding receptions at Bruno`s. Their wedding receptions were the social gatherings of the season. We would see our cousins, friends and sometimes our neighbours at a wedding reception at Bruno`s. One knew exactly what the menu was going to be and we would all be eager to sit down to enjoy our delicious 4 - 5 course meal for the evening. Along with great service, Bruno`s always delivered a memorable night.
There were so many wedding receptions we attended as a family and some of them were huge! Many times you couldn’t see the bride and groom, because of where you were sitting, The only thing you could see from your seat was the wedding cake, as some of them were 7 - 10 tiers high. Hundreds of people, with great food, great service, and you left with such a happy feeling inside. As children, we would see other children there and make friends. We then became upset because we didn’t want to go home, after leaving behind the new friends we had made.
Bruno`s sister, Lola Comelli, started working with him. Lola was no stranger to the hospitality industry, having ran two restaurants herself. The Capri at Port Kembla and Frascati Restaurant in Wollongong. Lola Comelli was also well know for running the restaurant at the Fraternity club, years later.
Bruno`s wedding receptions were really one of a kind. There was no one in Wollongong running wedding receptions like he was. Just the size of them alone, he could hold up to 500 people! The reason that he could have such large receptions was that the restaurant was situated at the front of the building and the wedding reception hall was at the back. In between the two was a concertina wall, that depending on the size of the wedding, Bruno would open up to cater for a bigger wedding if need be. Many times he had the restaurant and a wedding reception running at the same time.
Bruno ran the restaurant during the week which was al a carte. What made it ideal was not only the fact that it catered to the Italian community, and other ethnic communities in the Illawarra area, it was all on ground level. You just got out of your car, walked through the door and you were there. So easy.
Bruno also introduced a Friday night dinner dance, that became very successful. There were not many places in the area that offered this and because of the size of the establishment, Bruno`s dances were well attended. They became really popular from the time they started.
Bruno`s wife Assunta, spoke some English albeit a bit broken, and she struggled to settle down. She found it hard and at times felt like a fish out of water. Assunta was also very home sick. So, after much consideration, Bruno`s restaurant and reception centre was put on the market and in 1975 it was purchased by the Capetta family. It really was a tough decision for Bruno, because the business was doing so well. Part of him thought it was a mistake.
Bruno and his family returned to Rome. He purchased a nightclub and restaurant hoping to recreate the success he had just left behind at his wedding reception centre at Tarrawanna. He wasn`t as successful, however he moved into commercial real estate and did very well. Bruno Ardenti passed away in 2019 and Assunta is still living in Rome. The Ardenti family certainly left their mark in Wollongong. Many Italians gathered at Bruno`s for wedding celebrations, time and time again. One didn’t need the address to go to Bruno`s, you just knew where it was.
 |
| The original boarding house. This boarding house was home to many migrant men providing a room and meals. It had been in operation since the early 1950`s. Image from the collection belonging to Alex Ardenti Exterior Renovations A newly refurbished interior. Videos from the collection belonging to Alex Ardenti |
No comments:
Post a Comment