By Casey Neill
“Thank you to the people who come and eat in Dandenong.”
Beletti Restaurant Cafe Bar co-owner Robert Moretti kept it short and sweet when accepting the Retail Award at the Greater Dandenong Chamber of Commerce Business Awards at Greyhounds Entertainment in Springvale on Wednesday 30 November.
Mr Moretti and Anthony Belmuda merged their surnames and opened the doors to Beletti in Dandenong in October 2009.
The families had run The Grand International on Thomas Street for more than 20 years until Vic Urban, now known as Places Victoria, acquired the site through the Revitalising Central Dandenong project.
“We had three to four years of advanced bookings,” Mr Moretti said.
“It was very tough. We probably would have still been there today.”
They tendered for the restaurant and function centre rights at the under-construction Punthill Apartments at 159 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong.
They were successful and started planning.
Mr Moretti and Mr Belmuda both had experience in managing function centres, but managing a restaurant was a new challenge.
Dandenong already had several existing restaurants but the partners identified there was very little that catered for the corporate space and casual dining options for families.
Beletti brought in just $300 on its first day, but seven years down the track has 30 staff – including five apprentice chefs, a manufacturing plant and a mobile kitchen dubbed Beletti Express.
They encourage employees to innovate through a weekly catch up, with a paperless online booking system being just one idea that’s been implemented.
Beletti has also developed in-house training programs, including monthly Chisholm Institute on-site training.
The partners have supported people with disabilities through WISE Employment and have supported chefs from the UK, Italy and Bosnia through the Business Sponsorship Program.
