New Kids on the Block WORDS BY GRETA BRERETON
Meet Wolf on Watton, Werribee’s newest eatery. The all-rounder venue has opened just in time for summer, serving up everything from your morning coffee and eggs, to your Friday night feed. There's a new player in the restaurant market aiming to redefine Werribee's food scene. Always a breakfast hotspot, the city’s café culture is stronger than ever, and now the fine dining and wine bar scene is about to move up a notch. Meet Wolf on Watton. The shiny new haunt popped up in Watton Street in September. The first business venture for local brothers James Pearce and Nathan Salvalaggio, Wolf on Watton serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The pair say they found themselves having to travel further afield for fine dining and wanted to provide something closer to home. “We’re pretty keen on wine bars and fine experiences,” says Nathan. “But everyone kind of finds themselves going into the city for that,” adds James. “So we thought, ‘Let’s bring it to the west’.” As well as dreaming of filling a gap in the Wyndham dining scene, the brothers were also spurred on by a special family connection to the area’s hospitality history. The Wolf on Watton site is one that has been in the family for four generations, dating back to the 1940s. “It all started here with my grandfather, and that was in the mid1940s,” explains Ori Salvalaggio, Nathan’s father and James’ stepfather. “He bought it and then built a fruit and vegetable shop and a gelati bar.”
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Meet the Locals
From left to right: Michelle Salvalaggio, Nathan Salvalaggio, Ori Salvalaggio, Bianca Salvalaggio, James Pearce “From there, his three daughters – Bianca, Linda and Mary – worked in the shop with him and they ran that until the mid-1970s.” But the family lineage doesn’t stop there. Bianca Salvalaggio, James and Nathan’s Nonna, was the next to take over the site. She renovated the shop and transformed it into a café called Trovarellis Coffee House – after her maiden name – which she ran for about a decade. “Then they sold the business to someone else,” says Ori. “Over time, the
business in there went broke and that kind of created an opportunity for us to demolish the building and create a new building.” “Now, the family’s gotten back into it with my two boys. It’s back in the game, basically.” Wolf on Watton might have a sleek new look, but the family say that customers still remember the old days, particularly their Nonna’s café. “We get a lot of customers sitting here and reminiscing on when they used to sit here like 40 or 50 years ago,” says Ori.