Malouf's Fruit Shop & Residence (former)

Salem Malouf, a successful fruit merchant, built this two-storey shop and residence on the corner of Melbourne and Edmondstone Streets in 1913. Prior to the construction of Malouf’s fruit shop this site was occupied for several years by Chinese residents.1 Salem Malouf was the grandfather of one of Australia’s best known authors, David Malouf, who himself grew up in Edmondstone Street just around the corner from his grandfather’s stores.

What was originally a two-storey shop and residence, is currently used as a restaurant and professional offices. This federation period building has a post-supported street awning, and a verandah with timber balustrading featuring diagonal crosspieces. Both verandah and street awning are separated into three bays. Three evenly spaced French doors open onto the verandah at the upper level. The building has a hipped roof of corrugated iron. It is now sheeted in a variety of material, horizontal timber boarding on the sides, vertical timber boarding on the upper level verandah, and a more recent brick shopfront onto Melbourne Street. Cast iron lacework features below the eaves line of both the upper roof and the street awning but this has probably been added later. Curved sun hoods supported on cast iron lace brackets with timber battening on the sides features on the upper level windows and a lower level doorway on the Manning Street frontage.