Article by Alice Armitage

“Finding a place like Alex’s is like entering a time capsule. He told me the place hasn’t changed in forty years – in many ways it is like stepping back in time. There is beauty in nostalgia, it is not hard to find restaurants that embrace a retro aesthetic, but it feels extra special to capture something as authentic as this place.”

Yvette Scott is a travel and lifestyle photographer, originally from New Zealand and now based in Melbourne. Yvette’s interest lies in documenting the world around her, and particularly in capturing the beauty in things that may commonly be overlooked. Alex’s Fish & Chip shop, located in Altona, a suburb located in Melbourne’s West is a perfect example of this. With a local population of around 11,000, Altona is next to one of the only two swimming beaches found in the west.

Yvette had heard about Alex’s shop and its amazing seventies aesthetic and was keen to see it for herself. When she went there, Yvette was lucky enough to meet Alex . He was so lovely, letting her photograph him and his shop and even cooked up some fish and scallops which they ate together on the bench in his store. They talked about Alex’s family, his experience moving to Australia many years ago and of course his shop. He told Yvette that there are people who came to the shop as kids who now come in with their kids or even grandkids. When she was leaving he refused to let Yvette pay for lunch and stood at the door waving as she drove away. Leaving Yvette moved by the whole experience and touched by his kindness and generosity.

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