Hi, we are Zeljko and Gabrielle. We'd like to tell you a little about us...
After I (Zeljko), finished my Chefs Apprenticeship in Yugoslavia, I moved to Germany. There I worked at various restaurants, up to 3-star hotels. Eventually I did some further education in the tourism industry.
After that, I did my Master Degree in Cooking and Instructor in Apprentice Training. Then I met my wife Gabrielle, she also worked for many years in the hospitality industry as a waitress from restaurants up to hotels with Silver Service.
Together we wanted to do something new, something different, so we applied for a Visa to Australia and arrived in December 1988 in Gladstone. Unfortunately and to our disbelief, we become unemployed for 2 years. This was the worst time in our lives, since we have never been unemployed before, (I call it the "medieval-time" of my life)...down to 20 cents on the bank account and 5 days to the next dole payment!!
Finally we found a job for the two of us in Longreach, where we then moved to. After only 5 month, the restaurant closed down and we joined the dole queue again. Four month later we got lucky, we were able to rent a kitchen in one of the local pubs. That's where it all started. I had an idea!!!
PRONTO....
..PRESTO
..
PERFECTO!!!
For that we took what we saved, put the rest on lease and bought all the equipment we needed for a Pizza Shop. That was very exciting for us, as we have never done pizza before. But we kept our spirits up high (like Mr.John Laws uses to say: "keeping the dream alive!") and today (after a couple of houses, a Pizza Shop and a small shopping-center), we can say we made it! Our aim and goal now is to fulfil our Dream, to franchise our success,
"Ferdinando's Pizza"!! We are sure, that there are many more people out there with Dreams like ours... to make it!!!
Everybody can do it, you can do it too!!!, just ask us we show you how! If you want to take the first steps yourself, we have some recommended reading for you to better envision your goals.
With good product and good community support and loyal customers over the past years, Longreach made us what we are today. We are proud and thankful and we will never forget it.
| Maybe not known to many people of Longreach, our shop appears in the book "Sun on a Rusty Roof" by Ludij Peden (Queensland's famous water-colour artist in the traditional/realistic style), as a part of Australian pioneer's building history. |  |
 | We are proud to be privileged to preserve such a nice piece of building which represents and reflects our outback Building and Heritage History. |
