The team behind Ragazzi, Dear Sainte Éloise and Love, Tilly Devine have opened Fabbrica, a new pasta factory in the CBD.
Alongside “unprecedented” and “challenging times”, “pivot” will forever be part of the unique vernacular of 2020. It’s the phrase that’s been at the forefront of every small business owner’s mind, with waves of new restrictions demanding resilience and ingenuity at breakneck speed. We’ve seen plenty of that is spades across Sydney and beyond, with cafe, bars, restaurants and pubs transforming their business models seemingly overnight in the wake of a global pandemic. And one of the best success stories of this year has to be the opening of Fabbrica.
When lockdown demanded venues shift to takeaway only, the crew behind some of Sydney’s favourite wines (namely Ragazzi, Dear Sainte Éloise and Love, Tilly Devine) made one of the most successful (and popular) pivots. What emerged was a stack of sell-out take-home pasta packs, giving Sydney foodies to chance to recreate their favourite Ragazzi dishes with just a pot of boiling water and a few pans.
The demand was clearly there, and so the team (which includes the likes of wine bar owners Matt Swieboda and Nathanial Hatwell, Ragazzi head chef Scott McComas-Williams, and Cameron Birt of Fino Foods) decided to launch Fabbrica, opening in the CBD in September 2020. This subterranean basement venue finds its home under the fashion store Acne at 161 King Street, and offers a one-of-a-kind retail pasta experience to provide an upscale alternative to your traditional grocery store experience.
Fabbrica (which translates to ‘factory’) will serve as a premium pasta factory, serving seasonal fresh pasta, Ragazzi sauces, house-made bread, Tipo 00 flour, biodynamic eggs, cheeses, rare olive oils, organic garlic, sausages, anchovies and so much more. It’s a premium deli meets local grocer, with everything you need to make incredible pasta dishes at home.
The venue also serves a curated selection of grab-and-go eats including sandwiches, baked pasta snacks and so much more. Oh, and you’ll even find bottles of minimal intervention Italian wine on the shelves (with hopes of securing a liquor license and offering a 20-person wine bar after dark in the months ahead).