The 5Ways Foodservice journey started before our first day of operation, first order, first delivery, or first invoice, when the five founders started thinking that the foodservice industry was their calling, and that building a business with their family ethos would be the right way to go about it.
It goes without saying that we did have all of those firsts, and more, and next month marks 24 years since we made that memorable and historic first delivery.
Our first customer was La Lupa Pizza and Pasta at Tyabb on the Mornington Peninsula … and we’re very pleased to say that our partnership is still going strong these 24 years later.
In fact, just as 5Ways Foodservice has grown and expanded in many ways, La Lupa has been getting bigger and better for years, too. Just last month, La Lupa was crowned Melbourne’s best pizza place in the annual Triple M Best of Melbourne awards.
The driving force behind La Lupa
When Mick Ambesi decided that he wanted a change from the fruit and vegetable business, he opted to take the reins at a modest but established pizza parlour.
Right from day one, Mick rolled up his sleeves and dedicated as much time, money, and effort as he could to running and, gradually, developing the business. He also worked another job for several years to keep things running and didn’t take a holiday for the first 10 years.
Once he started making some smart marketing moves, including a double-page spread in the local paper presenting the La Lupa menu, things really took off. The positive word of mouth and growing core customer base saw the restaurant’s reputation build at a fairly rapid rate.
La Lupa trusts 5Ways to deliver what they need
Due to an existing relationship, when 5Ways Foodservice was established, Mick put his faith in the 5Ways team to supply his foodservice needs.
His long-standing contact is 5Ways co-founder and director Ciro Pollio.
“I’ve known Mick for 36 years, since he bought La Lupa. They used to deal with the family business and then when we started 5Ways, based on the relationship and the loyalty, Mick started with 5Ways,” Ciro says.
For his part, Mick believes that 5Ways has always been true to the motto “that little bit more”.
“You’re only as good as the people around you, and I believe 5Ways is all about looking after the customer and whatever the customer’s needs are. The service is second to none,” Mick explains.
Whatever it takes
“A lot of the brands Mick uses are brands he’s been loyal to for many years,” Ciro says. “The majority of the stuff, he’ll do his own research, and if he likes it, he knows his customers are going to like it.
“A lot of the time, Mick’s more about quality than something that’s five dollars less. He’ll go for the quality first.”
Mick is clearly a man with his own vision and drive, and he appreciates how consistently 5Ways has been able to deliver what he wants and needs.
“It’s 80 per cent of everything. They print our pizza boxes, fold them and store them, and we buy them as we need them – which is quite a substantial amount every week,” Mick says.
“Ham, cheese, bacon, pineapple, all our sauces, cleaning products, whatever we request, they will leave no stone unturned so they can supply it to us.”
Reliable and timely delivery is what matters most
Mick and Ciro agree that having the products the customer needs is a smaller part of the equation compared to the level of service provided. Customers rely heavily on 5Ways to make big deliveries on time every time.
“Two to three times a week, we get a delivery from 5Ways, and they come at 5.30 or 6 in the morning, before the car park gets full, to be able to unload. It’s quicker for them and better for us,” Mick explains.
Ciro points out that the service part of foodservice is essentially the only “product” 5Ways creates.
“If they don’t get it on time, if they don’t have enough cheese to put on their pizza, they’re good to no one. That’s why we have to make sure they have enough stock, particularly at their very busy periods, which is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday,” Ciro says.
“If something’s required after hours or on a weekend, you have to make sure you don’t let them down. You can’t go sending it to them on a Monday when it’s quiet because it suits us!”
Like any strong partnership, it’s a win-win
La Lupa’s reputation as the Best of Melbourne has been hard-earned and is thoroughly deserved.
The menu is more extensive than most restaurants or take-away places, having expanded greatly from the 20 types of pizza that it offered when Mick bought the business. The quality of the ingredients is not lost on customers, either.
Ciro is delighted to see La Lupa get the recognition it deserves and believes Mick should get most of the credit.
“We do play a part in our customers’ success, but you still need the person at the other end to drive it,” Ciro says.
“Mick has the work ethic, vision, and commitment, and we complement what he needs to get the ultimate outcome for a successful business like La Lupa.”
Like all good bosses, Mick is fairly modest and gives kudos to his team.
“It’s one of the hardest industries to be in, but if you’ve got good people around you, you can make a really good red-hot go of it.”
Fair to say we reckon Mick’s given it a red-hot go for as long as we’ve known him.