Foodies heartbroken as founder of famous Sydney sandwich shop Raineri’s Continental Delicatessen dies: ‘An absolute icon’
Sydney’s inner west has lost one of its most beloved food figures, with the passing of Pietro Rainieri – the man behind the cult favourite Raineri’s Continental Delicatessen in Five Dock.
Tributes have poured in for the 88-year-old, remembered as a hardworking Italian migrant who built a family business from the ground up and helped shape the culinary identity of the local community for more than four decades.
Food content creator and family friend Anna Simon shared the news on Instagram in an emotional post.
‘Over 45 years at Five Dock, serving the community with pride, kindness, and hard work,’ she wrote.
‘Pietro Rainieri was the true definition of the hardworking Italian migrant who came to Australia to build a better life for his family.’
Simon paid tribute to Pietro’s sons, Sam and Joseph, and to his wife Rosaria, who stood by his side throughout the journey.
Long before queues wrapped around Great North Road, Pietro was delivering salami, cheese and olive oil to Italian families from the back of his Holden station wagon in the 1960s.
That small operation grew into Raineri’s, a modest Italian deli that quietly served locals for decades before becoming one of Sydney’s most unexpected food pilgrimages.
Sydney’s inner west has lost one of its most beloved food figures, with the passing of Pietro Rainieri – the man behind the cult favourite Raineri’s Continental Delicatessen in Five Dock
A tiny, family-run Italian deli in Sydney’s inner west has become the city’s most unexpected food pilgrimage with customers now lining up for hours just to get their hands on a $15 sandwich
Inside, glass cabinets brim with Italian-sourced cured meats, cheeses and antipasti like cut-to-order salami, San Daniele prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, marinated eggplant, capsicum, olives and sun-dried tomatoes, stacked onto warm, toasted focaccia
Opened in 1981 by Pietro and Rosaria, the shop built its reputation on quality produce, generous portions, and old-school hospitality.
Every sandwich cost the same – $5 in the early days, then $10, and more recently $15 – even as some imported ingredients climbed above $120 a kilo.
‘My father always made affordable panini. We want to keep that,’ Sam previously said.
In recent years, social media propelled Raineri’s into cult status.
Queues now snake down the footpath ‘all day every day’, according to NSW Liberal Leader Kellie Sloane, who recently posted a Facebook video documenting the frenzy outside the deli.
In the clip, Ms Sloane chose the now-famous mortadella sandwich, describing it as looking ‘absolutely incredible’ before giving it a glowing five-star rating, further fuelling the already relentless demand.
On any given weekday, lines begin forming around 10.30am and don’t ease until mid-afternoon.
People travel from all over Sydney for a taste, with one customer famously telling the Sydney Morning Herald they’d spent $20 in tolls just to get there.
Raineri’s isn’t a sandwich shop in the modern, curated sense. Interestingly, there’s no menu, or pre-set combinations, but instead, customers are guided by the family behind the counter, who’ve been perfecting panini since 1981. Pictured: Owner Sam Raineri
Raineri’s Continental Delicatessen, tucked along Great North Road in Sydney’s Five Dock, has quietly served locals for more than four decades
Another passer-by, watching the queue build, summed up the disbelief many still feel: ‘So, it’s just a sandwich?’
But long-time locals insist the hype never changed the heart of the place.
‘It won’t feel the same without him there when I go past,’ one wrote after news of Pietro’s passing.
‘So sad. He used to make a mini panini for my son every time we went in,’ another shared.
Others described him as a ‘Five Dock icon’ and a ‘legend of the community’.
Italian-Australians, in particular, spoke of pride in what Pietro represented – resilience, generosity and the quiet determination of migrant families who helped shape modern Sydney’s food culture.
Raineri’s was never just about viral mortadella rolls.
It was, and remains, a traditional Italian deli stocked with cured meats, cheeses, olives, pasta, olive oil and passata. Regulars know there are two queues – one for paninis, another for deli goods.
Customers can choose their own adventure or hand control to the experts, with many opting for what fans affectionately call an ‘omakase panini’. One of their standout combinations includes Stracciatella, mortadella and artichoke (left) and costs $15
Glass cabinets brim with Italian-sourced cured meats, cheeses and antipasti like cut-to-order salami, San Daniele prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, marinated eggplant, capsicum, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes, stacked onto warm, toasted focaccia.
A communal table and coffee machine were added in recent years, allowing customers to linger among shelves stacked with imported staples.
Through it all, Pietro and Rosaria were often still there – greeting customers, sharing stories and passing on a legacy to their sons.
For many, that presence was the soul of the place.
With Pietro’s passing, an era closes – not just for a shop, but for a generation that built community around food and family.
Raineri’s doors will continue to open each morning. The panini will still be layered thick. The queue will likely still form.
But for those who knew him, Five Dock will feel just a little quieter without Pietro Rainieri behind the counter.
