Our Story
Three Generations of Freshness
Our Commitment to Quality and Freshness
With over five decades of experience and three generations of family involvement, Virgona Provedoring has built strong relationships with local growers and agents at the Melbourne Wholesale Market in Epping. This allows us to source the freshest fruit and vegetables available each morning, ensuring our customers receive only the best quality produce.
Family Values, Professional Service
We may have grown over the years, but at our core, we remain a family business. With over 30 dedicated staff members and 12 trucks on the road, we’re big enough to meet the demands of Melbourne’s bustling hospitality industry while still small enough to offer personal service.
Our commitment to quality, consistency, and genuine relationships is why so many of our clients have been with us for decades. Whether you’re a long-time partner or new to Virgona, you’re more than just a customer – you’re part of our extended family.
If you ask anyone in the fruit and veg game, they’ll tell you—it’s not just a job, it’s a way of life. And for the Virgonas, it’s truly in the blood.
Our family’s story begins in 1951, when a young Giuseppe Virgona arrived in Australia from Italy with a big dream and a strong work ethic. Like many post-war immigrants, he jumped into the world of produce, taking a job at a Melbourne retail fruit and veg store. For the next decade, Giuseppe honed his craft, learning from the best fruiterers in the business, absorbing everything the trade had to offer.
By 1961, with ten years of hard-earned experience and a twinkle of ambition in his eye, Giuseppe—with his equally determined wife Sarina by his side—bought their very first fruit and veg shop in Balwyn. The couple worked side by side, building both a business and a family, welcoming their sons Angelo and Riccardo into the world soon after.
As the business—and the family—grew, so did their appetite for opportunity. In 1968, the Virgonas expanded again, purchasing a second store in Footscray, transforming it into a thriving community hub for fresh produce. And by 1980, they’d added a third store to the mix: the wonderfully named Fruit Fiesta in Flemington.
In our world, there’s a saying: if you're born into fruit and veg, it runs through your veins. And for Angelo, Giuseppe and Sarina’s eldest son, this couldn’t have been truer. He followed in their footsteps with gusto—and, keeping tradition alive, teamed up with his wife Dee to form the second generation of powerhouse husband-and-wife operators.
Angelo and Dee took the family legacy to Melbourne’s iconic Prahran Market, sharpening their competitive edge and connecting with a whole new generation of produce lovers. It was here that their own children, Joseph and Natalie, first joined the fold—tiny team members with tomato juice on their chins and market banter in their bones.
By 1992, Angelo rebranded his parents’ Flemington shop as Flemington Fresh, calling it “the beginning of a wonderful 20-year journey.” It was more than just a shop—it was a community. Regulars were known by name, kids grew up with the business, and the love of produce passed naturally from one generation to the next.
But as the world changed, so did the way people ate. Family dinners gave way to fast-paced lifestyles and takeaway nights. The hospitality industry boomed—and the Virgonas knew it was time to evolve once again.
In 2006, Joseph (named after his grandfather Giuseppe) stepped up and officially joined the family business. With his fresh perspective, tech-savvy brain, and that same deep respect for produce, Joseph became the bridge between old-school wisdom and modern innovation. And in 2010, Virgona Provedoring was born—a warehouse-based, full-service wholesaler supplying Melbourne’s thriving hospitality scene with the same love, quality, and care that’s guided the family for generations.
Today, Virgona Provedoring is proud to serve restaurants, cafes, pubs, clubs, hospitals, aged care homes, and schools across Melbourne, Ballarat, Gisborne, and the Mornington Peninsula. We may have grown, but the heart of the business remains the same—family first, produce always fresh, and customers treated like old friends.
The next chapter of our story is just getting started—and we can’t wait to write it with you.
