Melbourne's food truck capital Thornbury continues upward price trend

‘Valiant, Dodge, Simca, Chrysler’ reads the ghost sign on the exterior wall of cool Thornbury bar Trumpy. The sign, painted on a brick wall in still-vivid purple, green, pink, blue and bright yellow, was a surprise discovery when a former car dealership was demolished to make way for Hive, a seven-floor apartment block. It’s literally a sign of two different times: Thornbury’s former industrial/commercial theme is making way for a people-focused one, though it comes at a price.

A few weeks ago, Thornbury, a suburb seven kilometres from thes CBD, was in the suburbs threatening to hit the $1 million median price list. The talk was about its California bungalows hitting the highs as would-be Northcote buyers head further north for affordability, but now there’s appeal for buyers interested in smaller dwellings. Apartments and food vans are attracting a whole new demographic to the area.

Since its sudden appearance, the ghost sign has been photographed by curious people, including Hive Thornbury’s operations director, Anthony De luca. De luca knows the area well: his dad’s been working there for 30 years – in fact, his dad’s office was opposite the 66 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments that will, once building starts, completely block the sign. Like a ghost, one minute it’s there, then, it’s gone.

Head Northcote-bound along High and you’ll see something equally car-oriented – and maybe equally temporary – Welcome to Thornbury. It’s a bit of a mystery at first; a fairy-light lit space that looks remarkably like a glamorous garage from the 50s, especially with its retro signage. Each weeknight at 5pm, however (and weekends during the day), up to six different food trucks park inside and sell meals for around $12. Can’t decide what to have for dinner? There’s room for 700, so come here instead. There’s a long bar serving drinks inside and out, and an indoor area for when it gets cold or you just want a bit of privacy.

“I think it’s really brought the Thornbury name to mind,” says De luca. “I think it was always ‘Northcote’ but now people know Thornbury. [Welcome to Thornbury] has been a massive factor. People are coming from the east to go there for a night out,” he says. And this is encouraging a new demographic.

“There’s a different type of people moving in: young families, hip-type people. Thornbury’s got a good atmosphere for nightlife – it’s starting to happen. Northcote’s going really well, this is the next step.”

Hive is going well too, with 64 out of the 66 apartments selling in four months. You can pick up one of the remaining two three-bedroom apartments for $700,000.

Four things you didn’t know about Thornbury

• Food trucks also make their way to 1 Theobald Street, in industrial Thornbury, to feed hungry beer-drinkers at 3 Ravens Brewery Bar. This newby is attached to the brewery so you know your beer is fresh. It’s open Thursday and Friday 3pm-12am, and Saturday 12am-12pm. 3ravens.com.au
• Psarakos is an old-school, pre-supermarket kind of shopping experience hidden on the corner of High and Clarendon Streets in Thornbury Village. Individual operators pedal their products from separate shops. You can stock up on fish, nuts, fruit and vegies, chicken and meat from folk who’ll get to know you over time. The deli is frequently the scene of some pretty intense number-waving queues.
• New bike shop North City Cycles (opposite the Hive development) has brought road cycling into the heart of Thornbury Village, and at 7.30am most Saturdays, a veritable traffic jam of bikes depart from here to join its free, and challenging, two-hour long “shop rides”. NCC’s owner Robert Gigliotti comes from Thornbury cycling stock.
• When it looked like the sports fields of Mayer Park, near Merri Creek, were going to make way for a new sports centre, many locals were not happy. Community group Friends of Mayer Park launched in August 2015, and in September, a different location was announced. The group received approval from council to turn Mayer Park into an open air cinema over summer, with their last (for now) film screening in April.