10 Questions, with Varun Goswami
Today, we chat with Varun Goswami, owner of Pizza Industri in Point Cook, and the new Landing Point restuarant in Williams Landing. In our regular feature, 10 Questions, we interview local personalities, about themselves, their passions and what drives them today.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Your passion?
My name is Varun Goswami and I’m a father of two beautiful babies and I am lucky enough to be the owner of not one but two restaurants in the amazing community of Point Cook and Williams Landing.
My passion has always been in the hospitality industry where I can meet new people from different walks of life and serve them their favourite dishes with a smile their face.
What was the first job you got out of school, and how did it lead to where you are at now?
I started off many years ago as a dishwasher in a local restaurant which is where my passion for food and people really took off. I saw where I was and where I wanted to be and from that point I put my head down and worked up in the hospitality industry and eventually made it to my dream of owning my own restaurant.
Hard work never fails, that’s what keeps me going when life gets hard.
When it comes to work-life balance, how do you manage it?
It hasn’t been easy for me to manage my work-life balance but with the support of my wife Tripti and my two beautiful children I was able to make this dream a reality. Although at times it can be hard to find a perfect work-life balance, while the kids are at school I always have help from Tripti which makes for a much easier experience!
Does that passion of yours see any attention, and how?
Yes, because looking back at where I first started I can definitely say that I’m happy where I’m heading.
So what is it that makes you love where you live?
The community for sure, everyone is just very warm and welcoming. I always have a sense of belonging from the very beginning when we moved to the area.
If there was one thing that you could change about Wyndham, what would that be?
Would probably be the safety issue, as a lot of people may already know there’s an increase in car breaking around the area. It’s unfortunate but I do think if I can change one thing that’s going to be an increase in safety around the area.
What motivated you to go into business?
My passion has always been in hospitality, especially the food industry, there’s something fun and interesting about food and is ever changing which forces us to be more creative and resilient.
How did you land on the name Pizza Industri?
Pizza Industri was purchased from a previous owner where I used to work and I’m fortunate enough to take over and continue the business.
It’s been a challenging time this past year, what strategies did you put into place?
The past year and a half has been a rollercoaster for the entire world let alone our little restaurant. We really had to take initiative and come up with ways to still be present in the community whilst adhering to covid regulations were in place at the time. Although our dine in was closed we were still able to deliver and have customers pick up orders which is really what kept us going. Our concerns weren’t just about keeping the business running but also making sure we could bring some light into the community during such difficult times. We did this by holding giveaways and developing kids covid packs which helped give parents stuck at home a well deserved break!
Whilst we were working on new ways to continue through trying times, I was also in the process of opening my second business, Landing Point, in Williams Landing which, as you could imagine, proved difficult at times. It still remained a fun project, as Pizza Industri was purchased from previous owners and created into our own, Landing Point was an entire new project which we were fortunate enough to create from the very beginning. We spent a lot of time focusing on the heritage of Williams Landing. As many of you know Williams Landing is a RAAF Base (Royal Australian Air Force) military base which is located in Point Cook and Laverton and we knew we wanted this to play a part in naming our new venture. This is how Landing Point came to be!
How do you feel about the future?
Given the circumstances of the past year and a half, we know that predicting what’s to come in the following years is not something we can do. However, we do know that we’ve made it through the hard part with the dedicated support of our community and know that whatever the future may throw at us, we are extremely lucky to be a part of Point Cook.