THE VALMORBIDA FAMILY
Carlo Valmorbida is remembered as a family man, business owner and one of Melbourne’s Italian food pioneers, but his story starts in Northern Italy, where he was a racing driver.
He was a decent one, too, competing in Italy’s historic Mille Miglia rally. Carlo knew when to shift gears, take his foot off the pedal and make split-second decisions that paid off – instincts that guided him through life and business off the race track.
He wanted desperately to pursue life on the track, but the wake of World War II led him to think practically. His hometown, Valli del Pasubio in Italy’s north, was left ravaged and he needed to earn a sustainable living. He was looking for opportunity and immigrated to Melbourne in December 1949.
Carlo didn’t entirely leave his hot-lap dreams behind, however; he came to Australia with a plan. “My grandfather’s ambition when he was young was to buy a racing car. He was going to save up the money here, then move back to Italy,” says Luca Sbardella, who, along with his cousin, Jamie Valmorbida, are the third generation of Valmorbidas to run Carlton’s longstanding Italian food and wine precinct, King & Godfree.
Shortly after arriving in Melbourne, Carlo got a job working as a storeman at the
Italian food store Agostino &
Co on Swanston Street in Carlton. Alongside the original owner, Frank Agostino, Carlo helped expand the business, as the demand for Italian food grew as more Italians settled in Melbourne.
“Within a year, there were lines out the door and they started doing home deliveries,” explains Jamie. “But they couldn’t keep up, and it got to the point where my grandfather wanted to start his own business.”
Frank Agostino was getting older and wanted to leave his store in reliable hands. In 1951, he invited Carlo and his brothers to buy him out. By 1954, the Valmorbida brothers had started importing and wholesaling Italian food, including olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, mozzarella, pasta and canned tuna and tomatoes, to the Melbourne community.
“They weren’t only supplying Italians, but also Australians,” says Jamie. “In the early days, my grandfather would go round to other non-Italian stores and leave a piece of parmesan cheese at their door for free so they could try it, because he was confident they would like it and then want to buy it.”
Within a year of arriving in Melbourne, Carlo met his future wife Elsie and was married. “It’s really sweet,” says Luca. “She was teaching him English and at a dance he wrote her a note that said, ‘Here’s one free dance for my beautiful English teacher’.” Elsie still has the handwritten note 70 years later.
They had three children, John, Paul and Luisa, and planned to relocate their family to Italy once they’d saved enough money. In 1955, they purchased King & Godfree in Carlton. It sold Kosher items, but, as the Jewish community moved to the south and eastern suburbs, and more Italians settled in the area, Carlo and Elsie changed its direction to service the neighbourhood.
Eventually, they raised the capital to relocate to Italy in 1960, but when Carlo returned home, something felt off. “He was a man stuck between two countries and realised he really missed Australia and the life they’d created for themselves,” says Luca.
Carlo and Elsie shifted gears and, in November 1960, the family was back in Melbourne. Knowing he was staying for good this time, Carlo was on a mission to represent Italy as best he could by accurately replicating as many of his favourite foods that he’d left behind and introducing them to a new audience.
“He started producing and manufacturing Italian food in Melbourne,” says Jamie. He bottled wine, pickled vegetables and made sausages and cheeses, and, with his brothers, started food brands including La Gina canned tomatoes and Sirena tuna. In the 1970s, he introduced Lavazza coffee to the Australian market.
“Our grandparents worked really hard in the shop during the day and did deliveries at night,” says Luca.
Carlo worked until the mid-1990s and the children, who had always had a hand, stepped up to run the business. Carlo passed away in 2010, but King & Godfree remains a family business 65 years later. Jamie and Luca redeveloped the heritage-listed site in 2018. It includes King & Godfree espresso bar and deli, rooftop bar Johnny’s Green Room, gelateria Pidapipo (run by Lisa Valmorbida) and wine bar Agostino – a nod to Carlo’s first business.
“We wanted it to be a celebration of what we love about Italian food, wine and culture, while respecting the community and our grandparents’ vision,” says Jamie. “We live by their motto that hard work and common sense pay off.”
King & Godfree, 293-297 Lygon St, Carlton, Vic, (03) 9347 1619, kingandgodfree.com
“He was a man stuck between two countries and realised he really missed Australia and the life they’d created.”