Tucked away in the back streets of Glynde, a former snack bar inside a warehouse has been given a new life, serving house-made focaccia, stuffed panini, Italian sweets and family recipes passed down through generations.
Strada Food Industry, located at 16 Provident Avenue, Glynde, is the new venture from chef Daniel Anastasi and Sam Smith, bringing a refined take on Italian street food to Adelaide’s eastern suburbs.
For Anastasi, Strada marks a return to hospitality after stepping away from the industry for several years.
A chef by trade with around 30 years of experience, Anastasi had been looking for a site that could evolve beyond a traditional café. When the Glynde warehouse became available, he saw the potential to start small with a daytime food offering before eventually transforming the wider space into a function and event destination.
Along for the ride is Smith, who originally worked as Anastasi’s apprentice before the pair stayed close friends. More recently working as an executive chef at Bloom in Thebarton, Smith saw Strada as an opportunity to move beyond the kitchen and learn more about venue operations and business ownership.
For Anastasi, the relationship is very much about bringing Smith along as a partner and creating opportunities for development and growth.
The pair initially envisaged Strada as a simple grab-and-go operation with a handful of tables. But the concept quickly evolved.
Rather than simply grabbing lunch and leaving, they wanted customers to feel comfortable staying, creating atmosphere within an unlikely industrial setting while keeping high-quality street food at the centre of the experience.
The menu features house-made focaccia, coffee and panini, including the Cuzzetiello, a hollowed-out Neapolitan-style bread traditionally filled from the top with hearty ingredients.
Customers can also build their own panini by selecting their preferred meats and cheeses.
But some of Strada’s most important recipes come directly from Anastasi’s family.
His 78-year-old mum has even been coaxed back into the kitchen, helping prepare family favourites including meatballs, eggplant parmigiana and house-made giardiniera.
Food has long been part of the family. Anastasi’s mum previously owned a continental deli for around 20 years, while her heritage from Naples and his father’s Abruzzo background provide plenty of inspiration for Strada’s future menu, including regional dishes.
The family connection extends to the retail shelves, too, with jams and other products made by Smith’s parents incorporated into the offering.
Those with a sweet tooth aren’t forgotten, with Italian treats including zeppole, bomboloni, orange cake and sfogliatelleforming part of the line-up.
And this is only stage one.
The long-term plan is to develop the warehouse into a dedicated function space, while expanding into office, school and external catering.
The team is also preparing to introduce other exciting concepts that we’ll keep under wraps, expanding the venue beyond its daytime trade on selected evenings.
For now, Strada trades Monday to Friday from 6.30am–2.30pm and Saturday from 7am–2pm.
Hidden in Glynde’s industrial back streets, it might not be where you expect to find handmade Italian street food and that’s precisely part of its charm.
