Sitting opposite the deli counter at Nut & Deli Wollongong is the original cash register that Chris Kizi's father used almost 50 years ago.
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The manual register that still works today once occupied precious counter space at the original stall, which was set up in the Wollongong markets in the former showgrounds, now the site of WIN Entertainment Centre.
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"My father, Thursday and Saturdays he was down there," Chris said.
Among the many other traders, Emilios Kizi's store sold products to the growing Southern European community, things that would otherwise have been hard to come by. Nuts and legumes were the top sellers.
"Basic staples for the Greeks," Chris said.
Emilios and Chris's mother Mary provided a taste of home for the many new migrants, while also increasing the palate of existing residents.
"The beans, it's not something you would see every day, legumes, some salamis, dried fruit."
Soon, these products that were once foreign had become part of the Wollongong diet, and in the years since the store has grown to serve the broader community.
Today, the store operates out of a two-storey building on the corner of Kembla and George streets, and has recently welcomed a third generation of Kizis into the business, with Chris's son Lee pulling coffees and serving customers, just the way his grandfather taught him.
"It doesn't matter how your day has gone, you smile and talk to people," Chris said.
Over the years as the business has grown there have been some familiar faces that have grown up along with it.
"The kids that are 18, 19 now, they used to come in here with their mum and they used to leave their toy cars, I'd have a little box and next week they'd come and pick it up," Chris said.
"Now they're driving cars themselves."
Some things haven't changed, however, as the store continues to stock a wide range of Mediterranean products, offering a deli counter along with pantry staples. Still, customers are able to scoop their own beans and legumes and coffee beans are sold by weight, rather than just in pre-packaged amounts.
Even as supermarkets take on a growing share of the grocery bill and budget entrants such as Aldi pop up down the road, Chris said the family have a formula to keep regulars coming back
"We're a bit different, we don't let people bag themselves, we don't let people serve themselves, it's friendly customer service," Chris said.
Now, however, the family have turned the tables, as apartment buildings spring up around them, the Kizis are the long-term residents of Wollongong, welcoming new arrivals to the city.
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