Meet the Mornington Locals Behind Your New Favourite Pizza Spot
How Two Pizza Obsessed Guys Brought Sicily Back to Mornington
You know that feeling when you walk past a place that's been sitting empty, full of potential, and think, "Someone should really do something with that"? Well, Giuseppe Ferraro had that exact thought—except the shop he was looking at used to be his.
Plot twist: it was about to be his again.
Let's rewind to 2008. Giuseppe and Anna Ferraro—with Anna as the Sicilian matriarch of the family—opened "Giuseppe's" on Wilsons Road, Mornington with their kids Aaron, Vanessa, Rebecca, and Melanie right by their side. The family-run pizzeria was everything they'd dreamed of—a local spot where everyone felt like family.
But here's the thing about dreams: sometimes they try to kill you with kindness.
Three years of working non-stop, barely coming up for air, and the Ferraros were burnt out. Like, seriously burnt out. So in 2011, they made the tough decision to sell and take some time off.
The Break They Actually Needed
Turns out, all they needed was a holiday. A proper break from the pizza ovens and late nights. Time to remember why they fell in love with food and community in the first place.
A few years later, refreshed and ready, Giuseppe and Anna opened "Papa G's" (named after Giuseppe Ferraro himself) on Main Street. They took what was your stereotypical run-down takeaway pizza shop and transformed it into a well-known pizza spot in the area.
Success? Absolutely. Problem? They grew too big too fast. Their dreams were bigger than their square footage, and when you're trying to serve quality Sicilian pizza to hungry locals, you need room to breathe.
With no bigger opportunities in Mornington, Giuseppe and Anna took their talents to Somerville and opened Pepe's. Good pizza, happy customers, successful business—but something was missing. Giuseppe kept one eye on the dough and the other on Mornington, while Anna dreamed of her perfect Sicilian garden, waiting for the right opportunity to come home.
The corrupted and jaded years: My Pizza Journey
Meanwhile, I was a young, fiery, innovative franchisee running my own pizza store in Mornington for 11 years. I took that store from one of the lowest ranked in the franchise to number 1, using the new age of social media before reels, TikTok, and even business pages for Facebook. Innovation including beachside delivery and taco delivery—years before GYG and Zambrero even existed!
But then came the stifling. Head office forcing me to use products and go in directions I didn't believe in. Eleven years of that will make anyone jaded, and by 2022, I'd had enough. Time for a career change—I became a videographer, traveling the world capturing stories.
When Worlds Collide (In the Best Possible Way)
In 2024, Giuseppe's phone rang. The landlord had a question: "Want your old shop back?"
The previous owners had left it, and there it sat—full of potential but empty of pizzazz. Giuseppe didn't hesitate. He snapped it up faster than you can say "mozzarella."
That's when he messaged me. Two guys who'd been in the Mornington pizza game, one with 15+ years of Sicilian heritage and recipes, the other with fresh eyes on branding and storytelling.
The Great Renovation Adventure (AKA Family Labor)
If you'd seen the shop in 2024, you might've called it "challenging." The before and after photos are honestly insane—we're talking complete strip-back and rebuild.
Giuseppe and I rolled up our sleeves in 2025, along with my brother—who's been with Giuseppe's daughter Vanessa for 15 years, so he may as well just be called son-in-law. Armed with paint brushes, power tools, items from Giuseppe's hometown, and an unhealthy obsession with getting every detail right, we weren't just renovating a shop; we were building a stage for the stories we wanted to tell.
I may have taken my market research and recent trip a bit too far, bringing home a suitcase full of Sicilian ceramics, trinkets, and decor. But when you're trying to recreate the authentic feel of Sicily in Mornington, you don't mess around.
What Makes This Different?
Giuseppe brings the Sicilian heritage—recipes from Vizzini and Catania, that Italian superpower of making everyone feel like family, plus years of pizza business experience.
I bring the storytelling—years of learning how to build brands people actually care about and a deep understanding of what makes Mornington locals tick.
Together? We're creating something that honors the past while embracing what modern Mornington wants: a local spot where the pizza tells the story of Sicily, where regulars become family, and where every meal feels like a celebration. Giuseppe learned you can't take Mornington out of the family, and I learned that every great story is about turning strangers into family.
It's Anna's sneaky cannoli that she slips in a paper bag when she sees your regular pasta order come up, followed by her friendly smile and "ciao bello/bella." It's her dream finally coming to life—a small hidden Sicilian garden out the back with planted olive and lemon trees, prickly pears, and little tables and chairs where locals can hide away from the tourists during busy periods, sipping proper Italian coffee and sharing authentic Italian antipasti.
The shop is no longer empty. In its place stands Ferraro's—not just a pizzeria, but a love letter to Sicily written in melted mozzarella and told through the warmth of a family that never forgot where they belonged.
We're bringing unique Sicilian recipes and stories from Vizzini and Catania to create Mornington's newest local legend.
Giuseppe's back where he belongs, the smell of Anna's recipes in the air, and I'm using my camera to tell the stories that matter most—the ones happening in our own backyard.
Sometimes the best comebacks aren't about proving something to the world. Sometimes they're about remembering who you are and deciding to do it better the second time around.
Welcome to Ferraro's. Welcome to our family. Welcome home.