When I walked through the door of The Hardware Club, Nicola greeted me like an old friend and revealed that he’s a big fan of my podcast and knew that he was the 202nd conversation I’d had. That made me happy and I felt happier still, perched up at the bar and hearing all Nicola’s stories of growing up in Verona, doing a stint in a hotel restaurant in Mykonos and coming to Melbourne. A year ago, he and his friend, Andrea Ceriani bought the restaurant they have called The Hardware Club. Housed in historic Hardware House, they have renovated the space, painted the pillars mustard yellow as a homage to traditional trattoria in Italy, installed a gleaming custom-made pizza oven in the corner of the room, and at the same time made sure the diners who had been coming to the place in its previous incarnation for up to 30 years, are still catered for.