Growing up working in his mother and father's fish and chip shop, John Kollias's days were long and the work was hard.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"My brother and I, and my sister, we just worked and helped the family," he said. "We've had other workers come in and out over the years, but most of it is just family."
Open seven days a week, Olympic Takeaway on Darley Street in Shellharbour has for the past 36 years been a family business run by the Kollias family.
John's parents, Theo and Helen purchased the store in 1986 and together have run it ever since.
"We have pretty much kept the same menu," said Mr Kollias. "We've added a few things, dropped a few things but 99 per cent is the same stuff we've done the whole time."
Yesterday, February 7, the family decided that now was the time to close up shop, and Mr Kollias said that while it was time for a break, he would miss the regulars that he has come to know over the years.
Judging by comments online, regulars would miss the Kollias family just as much. From referring to the Kolliases as their second family to memories of childhood holidays, it's clear that the business was more than just a place for a hot takeaway meal.
Located across from the Shellharbour Holiday Park, regular visitors would greet John and the family on a first name basis, having returned to the same spot year after year, sometimes for over a decade.
When the Kolliases first took over the shop in the 1980s, Shellharbour was much quieter than it is now, with suburban developments such as Shell Cove not yet begun. Serving the local community, Mr Kollias got to know many in the area even as the region boomed.
"We watched kids grow up from babies to adults in the shop."
While the suburb has changed around them, Olympic Takeaway has continued to turn out the same fish and chips that have always drawn in a crowd.
"We had a lot of customers saying, 'We're glad you do everything the old fashioned way,'" said Mr Kollias. The store has continued to cook chips and potato scallops fresh and kept the icecream bar and milkshake makers, even as other takeaway stores have adopted newer culinary trends.
"A lot of people like things that they're used to - creatures of habit, isn't that what they say?" said Mr Kollias.
A new owner has been found to take on the business, and plans to keep the shop functioning as a takeaway store. For the Kollias family however, it's time for a welcome break.
"It's hard because this is all we know, but [it's time for] a new chapter in life," said Mr Kollias.
To read more stories, download the Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
Sign up for breaking news emails below ...
