Unveiling a 50-Year Mystery: Discover Australia's 'Coolest Street'

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Every day, the cannoli are freshly filled with homemade custard at Lucchini Cakes in Melbourne’s Preston.

It’s just one of the traditional offerings popular with the area’s Italian diaspora.

“Customers also love our homemade pies and the continental cakes that we make for birthdays and special events,” said owner John Menara.

“We make everything on the premises. Food is our passion and always has been.”

A woman in a red jumper stands at a bench with two men, filling Italian pastries.

The Menara family hand-filling cannoli in the cake shop kitchen, as they have done for five decades. Source: SBS / Scott Cardwell

Lucchini Cakes is among many Italian businesses along a two-kilometre stretch of High Street between Preston and Northcote, named the ‘World’s Coolest Street’.

Culture and history just a few of the reasons for this global honour.

John Menara started the cafe in 1973. It had expanded from Lygon Street, Carlton where his uncle Enzo Luccini, a migrant from Italy, originally founded that street’s first Italian cake shop.

“Uncle Enzo came from a wealthy family and would be very proud that his name is still on the door,” John said.

For more than 50 years, Lucchini Cakes has remained a local favourite along High Street. The family is proud of their history and happy to share it.

“When new customers come in and when we tell them this is still the same family business, they often cannot believe it,” John said.

Cake shop founder Enzo Lucchini (left) opened the first Italian cake shop in Carlton’s Lygon Street in 1952. Source: Supplied / John Menara

The dining room fills quickly most mornings. John and his wife Sonia greet everyone with a smile and friendly words. They know many customers by name.

“Family and community is at the heart of this small business,” Sonia said.

“It is a place where people come to meet and chat and connect with culture.

“Regular customers come in and meet old friends and make new ones. Whether Italian or Greek, everyone gets on really well.”

Sonia Menara speaks Italian fluently and says language helps her to connect with clients, especially one older customer.

“She is lovely and has been shopping here for the last 45 years,” Sonia said. “She orders her cake in Italian and then we have a chat.

“Speaking her language helps us to connect. Many migrants with limited English skills feel at home here,” she said.

A cake shop showing shelves of biscuits and cakes, paintings and a toy soldier.

The interior of Lucchini cakes is decorated with European memorabilia. Source: SBS / Sandra Fulloon

Ironically, John was born in Australia and has never been to Italy — yet he has decorated the café with a cosy European feel.

“Covering the walls with paintings and photos of Italy is how I connect with my ancestry back in Italy,” John said.

What makes the world’s ‘coolest street’?

High Street between Preston and Northcote offers much more than cakes. There are vintage record and clothing shops, small bars and live music venues.

The vibrant cafe culture and a diverse array of shops are key reasons Time Out Magazine in 2024 voted it the World’s Coolest Street.

“High Street ticks all the boxes. It has epic restaurants, cute hidden bars, great boutiques, and a really wonderful community spirit,” said Time Out Melbourne editor Leah Glynn.

“Emerging as the top among 30 other streets is a remarkable accomplishment on a global level. This truly highlights that Melbourne’s offerings are indeed of world-class quality.”

An aerial view of a shopping street with historic buildings and city sky scrapers in the background.

An aerial view of High Street with Melbourne city in the background. Source: SBS / Scott Cardwell

Local historian Emma Russell agrees: “High Street’s diversity represents a lot of what is fantastic about Melbourne.

“It is not just retail shops. High Street has community organisations and community activities that look after people or that provide cultural activities for people from a wide range of backgrounds.”

Perhaps nowhere is the diversity of food and cultures more evident than the Preston Market, which celebrates its 55th anniversary in August.

Set up as a traditional European precinct in Melbourne’s north in 1970, the Preston Market has adapted to serve its multicultural clientele.

“Post World War Two, a lot of Europeans arrived including migrants from Greece, Italy, Macedonia and Cyprus,” Russell said.

“And in the 1970s more migrants arrived from Asia, Vietnam, and then Cambodia. Subsequent waves included people from Africa, South America, other parts of Asia.

“So, this area — often called a melting pot — is home to a real mix of cultures.”

A woman in a brown jacket stands at cafe tables on a shopping street.

Local historian Emma Russell says High Street offers ‘something for everyone’. Source: SBS / Scott Cardwell

‘We welcome everybody’

Market vendor Sam Virgona was among the early traders to start his own fruit and vegetable stall. He migrated from Sicily in 1967.

Sam Virgona knows his customers well and says many regard the market as a second home.

“They like shopping here each week. They meet and talk with a friend and have a coffee. They enjoy their time in the market,” he said.

A man in a blue jacket stands holding avocados on a table in a market store.

Preston market vendor Sam Virgona migrated from Sicily in 1967 and started working at the market soon afterwards. Source: SBS / Scott Cardwell

John Zaccharia meets a group every Wednesday for coffee and a chat.

“We talk about gardening, football and everything else,” he said.

“We are very, very polite people. We welcome everybody. If we have a chair open, we invite them to sit with us.

“The only two things we don’t like to talk about, and this is the rule, no politics and no religion.”

A group of older men and a woman sit at a large wooden table in a market walkway.

Friends meet regularly at the Preston Market to chat and share stories. Source: SBS / Scott Cardwell

That inclusive spirit is also felt by second-generation butcher Mark Tolio, of Mario’s Meats.

“I grew up in the market from a young age. I got to meet many people, many different characters and it is like one big family,” he said.

“And the people you work with, you build good relationships.

“I love this market, it is a terrific market and caters for everyone.”

A street art painting of Pinocchio on a cafe exterior wall.

Colourful street art adds to High Street’s cool vibe. Source: SBS / Scott Cardwell

High Street is known for its independent small businesses, including a range of restaurants, which sets it apart from big shopping malls.

Behind a church hall in Northcote, Matthew and Yuni Kenwrick run a busy Indonesian restaurant called Yuni’s Kitchen.

“We get a lot of overseas people, including Dutch and Spanish visitors, and they are very excited by our Indonesian flavours and dishes they do not usually have,” Matthew said.

“All our meals are made from scratch. For example, I make curry base from the beginning, chopping every onion, every chilli, grinding it, cooking it, and then serving it.”

Yuni and Matthew met in Jakarta back in 1994 and later moved to Melbourne, opening Yuni’s Kitchen in 2014.

With more travellers visiting Asia, Yuni said some want to rediscover the the flavours of Indonesia in Melbourne.

“A lot of our customers have visited Bali and want to try those dishes again,” she said.

A man in a batik shirt sits hugging a woman in a white apron.

Matthew and Yuni Kenwrick run an Indonesian restaurant. Source: SBS / Scott Cardwell

Matthew is proud to be part of High Street’s diverse urban landscape.

“It’s a multicultural street, and whether people are old, young or dressed like a goth, they are accepted here,” he said.

Handing the reigns to the next generation

Change is something the Menaras have also embraced over five decades at Lucchini Cakes.

Sonia and John Menara are stepping back now and are happy to hand over to the next generation.

“My sister Nadia and I are taking over the reins from mum and dad, and we feel very proud of our history, our Italian heritage,” said their son Gianni Menara, 46.

“And we are also very proud of the longevity of this family business.

“It is why we put our heart and soul pretty much into everything we do.”

A woman in a red jumper stands next to a man in a black t-shirt, with a woman in a blue apron and a bearded man on the right.

The Menara family (from left) Sonia, Gianni, Nadia and John at their Melbourne cake shop. Source: SBS / Scott Cardwell

Over half a century, that sentiment has proved a recipe for success.

And the Menara family hopes it will help the business continue for another 50 years — at least.

“It has been a beautiful ride, I’ve got to say, all these years that we’ve been here,” Sonia said.

“It is a great feeling and we are immensely proud,” said John.

“But, we could not have done it without each other, and the kids” Sonia added, giving John a big hug.

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