John Andronicus

John Damianos Andronicus (23 October 1894 - 15 July 1973) was an Australian coffee merchant and businessman. Andronicus was born at Mylopatamo (Potamós), Kithira, Greece, the youngest of eleven children of Damianos Nicholas Andronicus, fisherman, and his wife Vassiliki. He followed five of his brothers to Australia, in 1908. He went to school, initially with no knowledge of English, at West Maitland and Tamworth before joining his brothers' business in 1910. [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130067b.htm]

The Andronicus brothers also conducted an enterprising wholesale business with Greek shopkeepers in several country towns. His brother, Emanuel, had a chocolate shop with coffee as a sideline in George Street, Sydney near Circular Quay in 1904. He was Greek consul in Sydney in 1924-30 and helped many Greeks to establish themselves in what he always thought was a land of opportunity. John Andronicus became skilled in tea and coffee blending, and in assisting with sales, especially on the north coast. He was naturalised in 1924. On 29 December 1928 he married Kathleen Ellen Gordon at St Sophia, the Greek Orthodox cathedral in Darlinghurst, Sydney. They had two sons, Charles and George. ["The New Boy Network", Ostrow, R., Melbourne, 1987. ]

In 1936 John bought the firm and the following year established Andronicus Bros and ran the business with his wife Kathleen. They imported coffee beans from Arabia, Africa, India, Brazil and New Guinea, which they roasted and ground for both the retail and wholesale trades. They also sold hand-made chocolates nd continental foods such as olives, sesame seeds, cheeses and halva.

European migrants to Australia after 1945 increased the popularity of European foods and the advent of Nescafé instant coffee in 1947 stimulated demand for ground coffee. The Andronicus family were selling their coffee in bulk to grocers and cafés. In the early 1960s, his sons Charles and George established their own wholesale company, Andronicus Coffee Pty Ltd. John and Kathleen continued at the George Street shop until 1973 when it was closed to make way for the Regent Hotel development. Andronicus died three months later on 15 July 1973 and was cremated with Anglican rites. In 1983, like so many successful Australian family businesses had done, his sons sold out to a multi-national corporation, the Swiss-owned Nestlé Australia Ltd. ["The Perfect Cup", Dunstan, K., Sydney, 1989.]

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