Tony & Marks expands in style from single fruit and veg store started by Capobianco brothers in Adelaide's Newton, 1978

Tony & Marks expanded to seven outlets, with a string of internal brands, across Adelaide metropolitan area by 2023. Tony & Marks Director (inset) had a fleet of trucks delivering to restaurants and nursing homes.

Starting with a single fruit and vegetable store opened by brothers Tony and Mark Capobianco in 1978 in the Adelaide northeast suburb of Newton, the family Tony & Marks business expanded to employing 500 across the metropolitan area four decades later.

Tony and Mark Capobianco entered the produce business by helping their grower father pick his vegetables and sell them at the Pooraka market in Adelaide's north. Managing the business was later taken over by Mark’s sons, Michael, Frank and Paul.

Opening a large store at Glenunga in the eastern Burnside area was a major advance in the Tony & Marks branding and style, followed by more stores at the Brickworks and Golden Grove, on the way to seven outlets by 2023.

Tony & Marks maintained their original system of buying direct from South Australian growers through long relationships. They also developed a string of internal brands including restaurants, florists, delis, butchers, fish and cheese mongers, catering, events, a gourmet product range and a blossoming wholesale division dubbed Tony & Mark’s Direct.

Tony & Mark’s Direct supplied fresh produce and fine food from their Newton warehouse to restaurants, cafes, delicatessens, foodservice and retailers, using a fleet of 13 Isuzu N Series trucks, and applying their extensive knowledge of dealing with perishable product when it comes to transport and logistics