Slice of Perfection’s authentic Italian pizza has returned to Lancefield in a series of pop-up Friday nights that have left residents hungry for more.
Owner and Neapolitan trained pizza chef Stefan Barbagallo wants to respond to that demand and is now seeking an opportunity to rebuild his dream.
Personal circumstances forced the unexpected closure of Stefan’s pizzeria on High Street in 2023. It’s launch had followed the success of his catering business that went on to supply lockdown dinners throughout the pandemic. It was overwhelming community support that saw the pizzeria open in 2021 with dining options and a full menu.
However, Stefan described his journey as “a storm of professional highs and personal lows”. The pandemic created economic challenges and so too did personal circumstance.
“Despite a loyal customer base, the post-pandemic landscape of staff shortages and skyrocketing overheads made maintaining a larger brick-and-mortar venue increasingly difficult,” he said.
Stefan had also experienced a major financial setback when he discovered in 2022 that his family home had become water damaged from poor workmanship done to the house at some time before their ownership.
“We had a leak coming through from the shower tiled wall, through the internal walls and under all the floors,” he said.
“Three out of four bedrooms had been internally moisture damaged in the plaster and underneath the floorboards. This was all invisible to the naked eye in viewing the home.”
He and his wife made the decision to close the pizzeria for one month to repair what they could to live inside their home safely.
“As 2023 went on, we tried to get by, but lost our biggest month of sales,” he said.
“By the time mid 2023 came around, we had no choice but to list our pizzeria for sale to recoup the costs of what we spent on fixing our home with borrowed money from family who helped us in a time of need.”
Since then, Stefan has also been diagnosed with essential tremor, a neurological disorder causing involuntary, rhythmic shaking, in the hands and arms during movement.
He has been taking on other work while getting back into catering but he wants to get back to what he loves and rebuild what he lost.
“I haven’t given up on the dream. I am currently operating a temporary pop-up at the Lancefield Neighbourhood House while actively searching for a permanent shop again in the Macedon Ranges,” he said.
“Despite setbacks with government grant applications to get our foot in the door again, my goal remains the same: to bring world-class pizza back to the community that supported us from the beginning.”
Stefan is now seeking his own premise or a shared premise arrangement to expand in the community.
