On May 30, 2008, like many others, one of Australia's former Italian migrants passed away from a rare form of cancer, mesothelioma - also known as asbestos cancer.
Unlike most former immigrants, at his funeral, it wasn't just his family who attended - over 3000 people came to pay their respects, including government officials, to commemorate the successful and enterprising life the entrepreneur had lived.
His name was Biaggio Signorelli and in 2010, a restaurant was opened by his family in his memory in Sydney's Darling Island - the place where he had docked off a boat from Italy in 1955, in search of bigger dreams.
Biaggio found those dreams, and many more.
He started by becoming a green grocer in Willoughby on Sydney's lower north shore then after several jobs, he moved to another Sydney suburb, Lakemba, and opened his first business: a fruit market named after his mother - Antonella's Fruit Market.
After eventually buying the property of where his fruit market resided, he met and married Fina Navarra in 1967 and raised a family.
He then moved on to open a function centre with his brother-in-law and bought the Doltone House in Cronulla, which has expanded to Sans Souci and also Pyrmont, where the latest addition to the family's businesses, and one named in his honour, opened three weeks ago.
Walking in to the Signorelli Gastronomia, the first thing you notice is the decor, which includes a wooden trolley - the very one Biaggio used while working at the market - hanging from the ceiling; the interior design fuses old world and new, with polished concrete floors, marble benches and glass fixtures, and wooden barrels holding produce.
Normally I'd be able to tell you more about the interior design but I got distracted by all the food - ham hock and foie gras terrine, Tetsuya's black truffle salsa and the onions borrettane - and the existence of a restaurant and supermarket, all in the one setting.
In the middle of the restaurant, there is a sitting area and a chef's station. There are shelves and fridges located on the walls of the rectangular restaurant, featuring hundreds of different types of Italian food.
Walking into the kitchen, which is situated at the back area of the restaurant, I found the head chef, Naomi Lowry, who with executive chef James Viles came up with the restaurant's menu.
Originally trained in French cuisine, Lowry has had a role in keeping the menu of the restaurant traditionally Italian - with a bit of her French teachings, she admits.
Lowry and Viles' menu, the location, the staff and of course, the Signorelli name, seem to be a hit.
"We started with four chefs and the way things are going, sold out tables during lunch time; it won't be hard to justify hiring another chef. We are even thinking of expanding to the dinner market due to high demand. Being open barely three weeks, it has been amazing," Lowry said.
As we were ending our conversation about Signorelli Gastronimia, I asked Lowry whether any of the foods surrounding us in the 'supermarket' part of the restaurant were similar to those in the menu and to my surprise she said yes.
"You can enjoy a meal here and pretty much purchase most of the ingredients from our store. It is a pretty unique concept," she said.
"Alot of the food is imported from Italy, however, we still do have our 100 mile concept, where the basics such as eggs are sourced from a radius of no more than 100 miles, because not only does it cut down on pollution caused by transporting great distances, but we also get to help support out local community," Lowry said.
As I started to walk out, I noticed two Google employees purchasing food, despite having free food in their offices, upstairs.
Biaggio would be so proud.