Customer Spotlight: Barry Rosenberg
A few years ago Barry changed his commute from Kooyong to Clifton Hill to include a drive through Glenferrie Hawthorn, where he now stops daily to enjoy the shopping precinct.
He has owned and operated the timber and hardware company Provans for 50 years, with both his son and daughter now working alongside him. Not working the heavy 6am - 6pm work hours and days that he did years ago, Barry explains he is “tired but not retired”. Barry now has more time for other activities like spending time with his family, golfing, attending the horse races and going on holidays, one of his favourite destinations being Italy.
Another activity Barry now has time for is exploring Glenferrie Hawthorn. It has only been three years since Barry changed his morning commute to go through Glenferrie and allow himself some time for a stop and respite. He stops daily for around 45 minutes before or after work. In this time he usually reads the paper at a café, his favourites being those around the Readings area of the street; Bread & Jam for Frances, Le Clec, etc.
Weekends are no different for Barry, on Sundays he parks his car at one end of Glenferrie Road and usually strolls along the street stopping along the way for the typical coffee and paper or walk around the area’s parks. When parking his car in the area though, Barry warns that as a non-local it can be difficult to know the parking restrictions and rules. Barry enjoys Glenferrie Hawthorn as a neighbourhood that “feels very safe.”
Spending so much time here he has had a chance to get to know many of the retailers. He enjoys how friendly and nice people in the area seem to be, it feels very “old fashioned and traditional.” Although he has spent so much time in the area in the past few years, it was only recently when needing to post something, that Barry realised that there is a very accessible Australia Post Office right in the middle of Glenferrie Road! This goes to show that no matter how much time you spend in the area there’s always something new to discover.
