An afternoon chat with Joseph Vargetto – owner of Mister Bianco and proud Kew resident

Through many analogies Joseph Vargetto gifts us his insight in what it’s like running a restaurant in Kew, and what the much-celebrated suburb gives back to its residents.

Q—Joseph, would you tell us a little about Mister Bianco?
Joseph Vargetto—I opened Mister Bianco up in mid 2010. It’s an Italian restaurant with a strong focus on Sicilian food. The name itself was oddly inspired. It came about after my parents brought back some washing detergent following a trip to Italy named ‘Misterbianco’, which directly translates as ‘mister white’. I was weirdly fascinated by the name and the packaging, so I looked it up and found, coincidentally, that Misterbianco is a town in Sicily. Misterbianco – one word, English spelling for ‘Mister’ and all – is found at the base of Mount Etna. I’m Sicilian, Misterbianco is Sicilian, I wanted to open a Sicilian restaurant – the name was a perfect fit.

Q—One of the most important questions in hospitality at the moment – you have seemed to clutch a loyal base of Kew customers, how do you retain that loyalty in a city with so many restaurants?
J—I call it the Madonna effect. If you look at her, career-wise, she’s been successful for such an extensive period of time through subtle reinvention. The same goes for restaurants. They need to innovate. Not dramatically, i.e. today we’re an Italian restaurant, tomorrow we’re Japanese, but you need to give your customers new reasons to return and dine. For us that means reviewing the menu seasonally and introducing new specials based on produce that is at its peak at that given time. Too much change at once often doesn’t go down too well. People still like the classics if they’re done well, so don’t take them off the menu in place of something new. Two simple things are the key of running a great restaurant – consistent food and consistent service. If you have great food and awful service, no way would a customer go back to a restaurant again. There’s a saying we go by – good service, good food = good night. Good food, bad service = indigestion.

Q—What do you enjoy about living in Kew?
J—Everything. It’s an amazing place to raise a family or settle down. Kew’s selection of schools is so impressive – Genazzano, MLC, Trinity, Xavier, Carey to name a few. We’re only five kilometres from the city here, with plenty of trams going there. Richmond is around the corner, as is Abbotsford. The area is not short on parklands, either. I’ve met customers that love Kew so much they’ve lived here their entire lives and refuse to leave. It’s an undiscovered gem at the moment, that’s for sure.