Foodies wanted for heritage-listed South Australian venture

The historic Cobb & Co building in Penola has been a cheese and butter factory, tearoom and a restaurant. Now the owners are hoping another food company will buy this much-loved venue.

The 1850s building was most recently a food manufacturing and distribution facility operated by Vic and Maura Musolino. The couple hope a buyer inspired by regional living and an epicurean adventure will see the potential in the heritage-listed structure.

“The last thing I want is this place to be looked at as just another piece of real estate,” Mr Musolino told realcommercial.com.au.

“Money is not the issue here; it’s getting the right people to continue the provenance of the place.”

The Cobb & Co building and the adjoining 1920s Tregenza Gallery sit on a 1086sqm corner block in the historic South Australian town made famous by its connection with Australia’s first saint Mary MacKillop and the surrounding Coonawarra wine region. Mary MacKillop first came to Penola as a governess and later opened a school directly across the road from Cobb & Co.

The building has an adjoining gallery built in the 1920s. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/for-sale

“When I saw something as iconic as Cobb & Co languishing, I felt moved to do something about it,” said Mr Musolino, recalling the day he spied the historic building for sale during a trip back to his wife’s hometown.

“It presented very well as the National Trust had invested a lot of time and resources to get it the point it was, but it had been empty for two years.”

Mr and Mrs Musolino ran their business Outback Pride from this spot for five years. A native food line, the products were manufactured in Penola and distributed around Australia. It was recently sold to an Indigenous company that moved it interstate and the couple has retired.

The property includes 150sqm of open floor space, a commercial kitchen, cool room, loading dock, rear access and a large back garden. By separate agreement, the sale can include food manufacturing safety processes and systems established by Outback Pride and an external dry storage facility of 50 cubic metres.

While ideally suited to foodies keen to bring their dream to life, the site has potential as a cooking school, catering centre, regional wine-tasting centre, restaurant or café, boutique distillery or even as a residence or guest accommodation, according to selling agent Mark De Garis of TDC Agents.

Like many regional towns, Penola is experiencing a surge in tourism, as the COVID international travel ban continues and Australians head off to see more of their country.

The property has a commercial kitchen, cool room, loading dock and rear access. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/for-sale

According to the local Wattle Range Council, 28,110 tourists visited Penola in the first half of this year, compared to 20,088 for the whole of 2019.

“We are seeing a different type of traveller,” Tamara North, the council’s tourism and events officer, said.

“We are seeing people coming to the region that are staying for weeks, rather than a night or two, and a lot who have never been to our region before.”

The historic charm and agricultural heritage of Penola – the town was established as a fruit colony in 1891 – is proudly amplified by local businesses. The Musolinos supported the Penola Arts Festival each year by hosting wine tastings and cooking demonstrations with well-known chefs. There’s Petticoat Lane, a strip of original 19th century cottages, and Pipers of Penola, a restaurant and conference venue that focuses on regional produce.

“One thing you do hear from tourists is that it would be nice to have a couple of different options when they come back into town after enjoying a day at the Coonawarra wineries. So there’s certainly an opportunity for another restaurant in the [Cobb & Co] space,” Mr De Garis said.

The Musolinos came to Penola inspired by their travels around the world and, in particular, time spent in the Italian town of Bra, the home of the slow food movement.

“It was a complete lifestyle change,” said Mrs Musolino of the move from Adelaide to Penola.

“We had great fun bringing the building up to standard for commercial food manufacturing, then creating jams, chutneys, and spices from rare ingredients grown at Reedy Creek and beyond, with our own skilled local team.”

Mr Musolino added: “There’s an abundance of goodwill and an abundance of talent in Penola.

“People just responded and helped us out, and over time we built a team of half a dozen local people. We were all so proud to be part of something so unique.”

There’s also a large garden out the back. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/for-sale

Mr Musolino sees particular potential for Penola – and the next Cobb & Co owner – to explore immersive food and travel experiences.

“With COVID and global travel completely shut down and probably for some considerable time, we are totally underestimating the enormous opportunity we have to celebrate what we have in this country,” Mr Musolino said.

“The pilgrim traveller will totally immerse him or herself into environments so they can see things differently. That’s powerful stuff.”

The Musolinos are banking on a recipe of treasured history, local produce and surging tourism to lure a new owner to Penola.

Registrations of interest for the Cobb & Co property close on 23 August.