Parlamento’s baby is coming to Woodville
Banca is set to open in mid-July, from the daughter of a former Parlamento owner.
Hospitality is in Francesca Miljanovic’s blood.
Her father, Raffaele Simeone, opened Parlamento on North Terrace in 1988, an Adelaide institution until it closed its doors in April this year.
“He was there for 36 years before he [and his business partner Danny Rattenni] decided to sell,” Francesca says.
“I’ve been involved in that business for quite a while, and it brought me back to wanting to get back into hospitality.
“I’ve always worked in customer service, but it’s been different factors: whether it’s been retail or whether it’s been telecommunications, or whether it’s been hospitality.
“Coming back to Parlamento when I was working there reignited a fire in me to want to do it again.”
Francesca says she has learned a lot from her father at the Adelaide hospitality institution, particularly when it comes to customer service. Francesca wants to bring this to her new diner, Banca, which is set to open in mid-July on Woodville Road.
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“My dad and his partner, Danny, were amazing at greeting, welcoming and creating lifelong connections with their customers, and that’s literally what I want to do here,” she says.
“The inspiration I’m taking from Parlamento is everything I’ve learned from both Raf and Danny about being hospitable, inviting people in and treating them like family, because that’s what keeps your customers coming.
“Obviously, the food’s important. Drinks are important but having that connection with them is something that I’ve really learned how to achieve through Parlamento, so I’m really excited now to use that and bring it forward here.”
The selling of Parlamento was the “perfect time” for her to “start [her] own journey”.
Francesca would consistently drive past a site in Allenby Gardens and decided to enquire about setting up a business. As the site was in use, she let it go and decided to broaden her search.
“Then one day, I got a phone call from this amazing woman at the council called Paula, and she said ‘look, we’ve got a building that is currently vacant, and what you’ve expressed your interest to put at Allenby Gardens, we would love for you to have a look if Woodville would be a fit’,” she says.
When Francesca arrived to view the property in person, she “fell in love with it”.
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“I just love the old feeling of the building,” Francesca says, as the building was originally a bank before being converted into an accounting office.
“My thought process for opening something was always going to be something that looks aesthetically beautiful but maintains those old school values of service.
“So, being really generous with the food, being generous with your hospitality, being generous in all aspects and an older space like that just reminds me of what we’ve grown up in.”
Francesca has decided to keep nods to the building’s former life – Banca translates to ‘bank’ in Italian – but with the help of Messa Interior Studio, they’ve brought it back to life.
“I wanted to create something visually appealing but super calming,” she says.
“I want it to be a space where you can sit and have a beautiful long lunch, or you can come in after a busy morning and just chill and relax. Or if you do want to have an event there, it’s aesthetically pleasing for your event.
“I’ve always loved neutral tones, but I just felt these colours really invoked a lot of things about what I wanted the space to be: thinking about coffee, beautiful bread, pastries, all of those things that we’ll offer.”
At Banca, there will be a breakfast and lunch menu from Monday to Friday – with Willow Bend coffee pouring through the week – then from Thursday to Saturday, the space will be open for dinner.
“We’re going do some really cool things with that,” Francesca says on the dinner menu.
“We’re all about share plates, so we’re looking at doing what we call our snacks. So, little plates of antipasto style. We’re doing some beautiful stuffed olives that were my mum’s original recipe that everyone dies for.
“We’ve got some beautiful pastas … and some great main course options, like a beautiful rib eye, some gorgeous charred chicken and some great sides to go with it as well.
“Friday nights, we’re going to be doing a pasta hour night. After work you can finish up, come down, grab a glass of wine, have a pasta and just sit in a really cool atmosphere and just chill out for a bit.”
Banca is located at 63 Woodville Road, Woodville and is slated to open in mid-July.
Connect with the business on Instagram for more.