John Fragopoulos is no ordinary fishmonger. He is passionate about the product he sells. Yes, it is fresh, he tells DAVID TURNBULL, but he also knows where it comes from, who caught it and how it was farmed.

When John Fragopoulos was a child, he’d go fishing at the wharf near his home in Piraeus – the port of Athens.

Even then he was an entrepreneur.

He’d ride his bike to the wharf, buy a bucket of sardines, and sell them on the way home.

“Many of my customers were relatives,” John says. “It was pocket money.”

From a young age, he fished with a handline off the wharf and loved chatting to the old fishermen when they docked.

When he was eight, John recalls asking one of them: “What is the best fish?”

And the answer he got has shaped his life.

“He looked up at me and said: ‘Fresh fish is the best. Fresh Fish’.”

More than 60 years later, John is a fishmonger, but not just any fishmonger. As the managing director of FishCo Fish Market in Fyshwick, John is passionate about the product he sells.

Yes, it is fresh, but he also knows where it comes from. Who caught it. How it was farmed.

Why?

Because he cares; he cares about the quality, and about the environment.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a crusader. I don’t know the exact numbers, but it is obvious the fishing industry is under a lot of pressure,” he says.

“There’s just not as many fish as there used to be.”

Sent back to school in Athens

John Fragopoulos has always done things his own way. Born in the early ’50s, he came to Australia with his parents at age nine.

He went to school in St Albans; what was then an outer-western suburb, disconnected from Melbourne. 

As he grew, his conservative father got worried by the teenagers he encountered in the streets and sent John back to Athens to live with his grandparents and complete his education at a private school.

Before he’d left school, he teamed up with Anthoula, a young girl attending the same school. They were subsequently married, and had their first daughter.

After studying accountancy, John enlisted in the army to do his national service. 

Still in his early twenties, he worked multiple jobs to make ends meet, before the family moved to Australia in 1978 with their baby daughter and new son.

Back in the family home in St Albans, John’s father presumed he would follow in his footsteps as a carpenter, and didn’t take it well when John had different plans.

“The first week I was back, dad said: ‘Let’s go to Mitre 10. I’ll buy you a nail bag and a hammer and you can come with me to learn your trade.’”

“I said: ‘Dad you educated me already; I’m a qualified accountant and that’s what I plan to do’.”

It was a serious rift; his father stopped talking to him.

But John remained upbeat.

Within a few weeks he noticed the local council was inviting tenders to run the canteen at a new swimming pool.

They wanted a minimum $100 a month rent.

Doing his homework – the summer were sizzlers

“The room was packed with Greeks and Italians. One guy made an offer of $120 but everyone’s jaw dropped when I stood up and said: ‘I’ll give you $200 a month’.”

John had done his homework. He knew the St Albans summers were sizzlers, and the closest pool was way off in Sunshine.

With electricity and water part of the deal, he was on a winner.

And that’s exactly how it turned out. The first month’s takings were $10,000.

The lease was only for two years, and by then they had decided to branch out on their own. 

The couple drove to the Gold Coast and dropped into Canberra on the way home to visit a cousin.

They fell in love with the beauty, cleanliness and people of Canberra – a far cry from the busy port of Piraeus!

Their cousin ran a supermarket and John was given a job stacking shelves. 

One night, the young family were buying fish and chips in O’Connor when they learnt that the little shop was up for sale.

Of course, John jumped at the chance to own his own business again, and Trata Takeaway was born.

However, it was just a basic takeaway, and the fish was frozen Hake from Argentina.

A little cardboard sign was all it took

John says back then it was hard to find fresh fish and that was something he wanted to change.

He explored the Sydney Fish Markets, bought a second-hand Bedford van, and started bringing in fresh fish.

A little cardboard sign on the shop window was all it took to get the business booming and pretty soon, customers started coming for the fresh fish and seafood.

Eventually the demand to supply fresh fish and seafood grew so much that the inevitable happened and the family moved into the fresh fish and seafood industry. 

Within a few years at Belconnen Markets, they had a second shop at Fyshwick Markets, a supply-chain that included buying direct from Ulladulla, Bermagui, Eden and as far south as Lakes Entrance, and they supplied to restaurants.

And the fishermen loved him.

Why?

Because he paid cash. 

“I would order by phone, and the trucks would go down Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I would pay as soon as the fish arrived.”

John himself would make the trip to the south coast once or twice a week, which is how he almost missed the birth of his third child when Anthoula went into labour shortly after he’d left late at night for Bermagui. 

His eldest daughter recalls: “There were no mobile phones back then. In the end, he made it just in time to the hospital and I’ll never forget when dad came out of the delivery room to tell us our sister was born – he was wearing a surgical gown over his fish boots!”

“They say timing is important in business, and I was lucky I was able to give Canberrans something they love at a time that no one else was doing it properly.”

What began with a tiny shop in 1984, has grown into the largest fresh fish and seafood retailer and wholesaler in the ACT, FishCo Fish Market, a purpose-built, fully refrigerated store, with fresh produce arriving every day.

And it’s still very much a family business with all children still working for the shop, as well as partners and grandchildren!

John laughs at the idea of retiring, but admits he would probably spend it “down the South Coast, fishing”.

Journalist David Turnbull is writing a series of profiles about interesting Canberrans. Do you know someone who deserves a shot in the spotlight? Share the name and a number in an email to David via editor@citynews.com.au