Service with heart and heritage
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When siblings Basil and Helena Stamoulis talk about Marrickville Freezers, the word that comes up again and again isn’t growth, scale or technology – it’s service. That focus can be traced back to their parents, Tim and Effie Stamoulis, and their journey from central Greece to Australia, and in the determination that saw them trading from a small takeaway shop in Australia Street in Newtown in 1969, laying the foundations for the family business.
“It was a classic immigration story,” Basil says. “They came out for opportunity.”
With little English and no formal business training, Tim started small – running a takeaway shop on Australia Street in Newtown. The chips were good, word travelled quickly, and soon customers began asking where he sourced his potatoes. The answer was simple: he didn’t — he peeled them himself. After long days in the shop, Tim would work into the night bagging potatoes for customers to collect after hours.
“That’s how it started,” Helena recalls. “He worked hard – peeling potatoes at night and distributing them himself.”
Tim and Effie, with children Arthur and Helena outside Marrickville Freezers’ original Farr Street site in Marrickville, established after the business outgrew its Newtown beginnings.
Growing up in the business
As the business grew, so did the family’s involvement. For Basil, Helena and their brother Arthur, Marrickville Freezers wasn’t something reserved for post-school employment — it was part of their everyday.
School holidays were often spent helping in the business, answering phones, loading trucks and supporting operations wherever they were needed.
“There were no holidays from the business,” Helena laughs. “Our school holidays were Marrickville Freezers.”
Yet for all the long hours and pressures that came with building the business, Tim and Effie were deliberate about being present for their family. Swimming lessons, soccer games and important milestones were never missed – a balance that Basil and Helena say shaped not only their family dynamic, but the values that continue to guide the business today.
Not all early memories were tied to the day-to-day work, however. Some were about recognising progress and marking milestones along the way.
“Every time Dad bought a new truck, he’d break a bottle of champagne on the wheel,” Helena remembers. “Like they do with fishing boats in Greece – for good luck on the road.”
It was a small tradition, but one that captured – and continues to capture – everything about the business: pride, heritage, family and a belief that hard work deserves to be celebrated, even briefly, before moving on to the next delivery.
Jane one of the long standing Marrickville Freezers staff members continuing the tradtion of breaking a bottle of champagne on a new truck.
Stepping up sooner than expected
With a family business, there are no shortcuts. From loading and unloading vehicles to picking orders, driving and working public holidays, all three siblings – Basil, Helena and Arthur – learned the business from the ground up.
That experience became critical far sooner than expected after Tim’s tragic and untimely death in 1998. In their early twenties, all three siblings found themselves overnight responsible not just for a business, but for staff, customers amd a grieving family.
“We didn’t have any structure back then,” Helena says. “No forecasting, no planning. It was just survival.”
Loyal long-standing staff helped steady the business and over time instinct gave way to experience. What began as reactive decision-making gradually evolved into more deliberate planning.
Effie, Basil and Helena Stamoulis at the Moorebank warehouse, where the next chapter of Marrickville Freezers’ family story continues.
From survival to structure
The move to a purpose-built facility in Moorebank in 2019 marked a turning point – bringing greater scale, clarity and long-term focus to a business that had grown steadily over decades.
Today, the business serves customers across Sydney metro from this 4,500-square-metre warehouse, carrying thousands of SKUs across frozen, chilled and dry goods. Basil oversees purchasing and sales, Helena manages operations and administration, and Effie – still very much involved – supports accounts and financial control.
Despite the scale, the culture remains intentionally grounded.
“There’s structure, but no hierarchy,” Helena explains. “We keep communication open – with staff and with customers.”
Service comes first
That philosophy shows up in the smallest details.
For Basil, the equation is simple. “If we don’t have customer service, then we don’t have customers.”
High service levels, strong DIFOT performance and long-standing customer relationships continue to underpin the business, even in a market where price pressure and volatility are constant.
“When you answer the phone, smile,” Helena tells her team. “They can’t hear it, but they can feel it.”
Marrickville Freezers’ state-of-the-art, purpose-built 4,500sqm distribution centre in Moorebank, built to support the business’s next phase of growth.
Inside Marrickville Freezers’ Moorebank warehouse, where high-bay racking and efficient operations support daily foodservice distribution across Sydney.
Modernising without losing the human touch
Technology has become an increasingly important part of operations, with ecommerce now accounting for over 70 per cent of orders, and new systems and technology being introduced to improve efficiency across warehousing and transport.
But the family is careful not to automate away what matters most.
“We want to digitalise,” Helena says, “but not at the cost of people.”
That approach carried the business through COVID, when no staff were lost, and continues to guide decisions around sustainability, including solar investment and working with suppliers committed to responsible practices.
Independent, but stronger together
A member of the Countrywide network since 2012, Marrickville Freezers values the opportunity to learn from others while maintaining its independence.
“Every meeting you come back with ideas,” Basil says. “Someone’s always doing something a bit better.”
The shared insights, networking and perspective have helped the business evolve while staying true to its values.
Today, the focus is on sustainable growth and long-term legacy.
“Our parents started this for a better life,” Basil says. “Now it’s about building our own legacy – and doing it our way.”
Basil and Helena Stamoulis at Countrywide’s 30-year anniversary celebration in Melbourne where Marrickville Freezers Foodservice was a finalist in the ‘Super Group Program Excellence of the Year Award’.
Managing Director, Marrickville Freezers Foodservice