About Us

Gusto bakery is a proud family run business owned by Simon and Carly Gray. We started a business in a small store in Essendon North in October 2001. Living above the shop to make ends meet for the first three years meant we were never far from our dream. Carly continued to work as a school teacher during the day whilst working in the business after hours and on weekends.

It was a rather tight squeeze when Simon’s four children came to stay in the two bedroom residence above the shop on weekends and holidays but they loved waking early and coming down to watch the handcrafted food production. We no longer own the original store as we started to out grow it; we purchased in Strathmore in May 2003, Fairfield in 2012, and Moonee Ponds in 2016.

Just like our network of great stores, Carly and I have also expanded our family with the arrival of three beautiful children, giving us the pleasure of seven delightful children to enrich our lives. The older four children have all worked in the business at various times and the younger ones eagerly await their turn.

Our Vision

Carly and I chose to name our business “Gusto” because in English it infers passion and in Italian it means taste; we are passionate about the taste of our food! Food should not just look appetising, it should taste terrific too! Great tasting food is only part of our mission; our business philosophy is based around long standing and mutually beneficial relationships. Core to this value is the creation of a respectful and healthy work environment for our staff. Through having loyal and professional staff, we ensure our customers will enjoy their experience through the delivery of good, old fashioned customer service where they feel welcome and connected with our team. We also aim to maintain the loyalty of our valued suppliers, often forgoing cheaper prices in order to maintain positive relationships with people we value. Fundamentally, we aim to produce and sell great quality food at a reasonable price whilst building long standing relationships and friendships between all stakeholders in our business. The fact that you are reading this means you are one such friend and we sincerely thank you for that.

Simon Gray

Gusto