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By Yue Luo, Yiping Chang, Jiayuan Liang
For more than four decades, Warrandyte Berry Farm has been part of the local landscape, growing from a roadside strawberry stall into a long-running family business.
The farm's story began in the 1970s, when Tony's father-in-law started growing strawberries on the property. In those early days, the family sold their produce from the back of an old truck. As the business grew, they eventually built a permanent roadside stall.
Today, Tony and his wife run the farm and shop together.
“We’ve been doing it for 40 years,” Tony said.
The farm now sells a range of fresh produce and homemade products, as well as doughnuts, hot dogs and smoothies. During winter, when Warrandyte is too cold for growing strawberries, the farm sources its strawberries from Queensland.
A typical day starts with preparing the stall, putting out the produce and getting ready for customers. The shop is open from Thursday to Sunday, from 10am to 4.30pm, with weekends usually the busiest.
The farm attracts a mix of local regulars and visitors from further afield. Some customers have been coming back for decades.
“Some of them came when their kids were so small, and now they’re grown up,” Tony said.
For Tony, those long relationships with customers are part of what makes Warrandyte special.
“It’s a very tight-knit community,” he said. “They all look after one another.”
While Warrandyte has changed over the years, Tony believes much of its community character has remained. Large properties, limited subdivision and the surrounding green belt have helped preserve the area's semi-rural feel.
One thing that has changed, however, is the traffic. Tony said the roads are much busier in the morning and late afternoon, with commuters increasingly travelling through Warrandyte on their way to and from other parts of Melbourne.
But after decades in business, the biggest challenge facing Tony and his wife is a more personal one.
“We’re getting older, so it makes it harder and harder,” he said.
Tony hopes the farm will continue into the future, although whether the next generation will eventually take over remains uncertain.
“We’ve only got two daughters, and they’re busy with their own lives,” he said.
For now, Tony and his wife are still there, opening the stall four days a week and welcoming customers — including some who first came to Warrandyte Berry Farm with their parents decades ago.
Visit Warrandyte Berry Farm: 449–451 Ringwood-Warrandyte Road, Warrandyte South. Open Thursday to Sunday, 10am–4.30pm.
