One of Canberra's characters - and a proudly self-made businessman - Go Troppo founder Frank Commisso has died, at the age of 58.
His family said the gregarious, larger-than-life Mr Commisso died at the Canberra Hospital on Tuesday, surrounded by 30 members of his extended family, after a health battle.
Wife Christine, sons Marcus, 28, and Joel, 25, and daughter-in-law Casey have been overwhelmed by the reaction of the Canberra community to his passing.
"It's amazing since Tuesday the amount of people who've said, 'Frank was like a father to me' or 'Frank was like a brother to me'," Joel said.
"We so appreciate the love," Marcus said.
Mr Commisso had only this year overseen the opening of a new headquarters for his wholesale fruit and vegetable and trucking businesses in Beard.
Go Troppo had also recently been named the Providore of the Year at the Sydney Markets' Fresh Awards.
"He was so proud," Marcus said.
Born and bred in Canberra, Mr Commisso had all-but been retired, still taking an interest in the business he built over 32 years, starting with the opening of the Go Troppo fruit and vegetable shop at the Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets in 1991.
Mr Commisso attended St Joseph's Primary School in O'Connor and then Daramalan College in Dickson. His father Luigi owned Luigi's Discount Furniture in Mitchell as well as fruit shops, where Frank worked from the time he was a child.
He then started driving trucks for Iannelli's fruit and veg wholesaler.
"Dad visited a lot of farms and did a lot of research without even knowing it," Joel said.
"He was getting a passion for the fruit and vegetable industry," Marcus said.
As well as Go Troppo, Mr Commisso opened a second store, Simply Fresh, in Woden. He left Fyshwick markets in 2007 to concentrate on the wholesale and trucking side of the business, delivering fresh produce from the Sydney Markets to local clubs, restaurants, supermarkets and more.
"He made Go Troppo a household name with his TV specials," Joel said.
"And his old-fashioned service," Marcus added. "He was a man of his word - if he said it was good, it was good. If it was bad, it was bad. And he stood by the product he was selling.
"Over 30 years, we've never had sales reps, it's all been word-of-mouth and that's a massive achievement, to go from a little shop to 14 delivery vehicles out there every day, servicing the whole of Canberra."
And then Marcus had a chuckle.
"For God's sake, he couldn't even turn the computer on. It was always, 'Marcus! What's the password?'," he said.
"But that's who he was. He had his pen behind his ear and he was a legend.
"Dad was a self-made man and he was proud of that."
He also supported charities, including the Cancer Convoy and helped to deliver fresh food during the COVID lockdowns.
Frank and Christine, who lived in Forrest, had been married for 32 years. They met in Lyneham where Frank was working in the family fruit and veg shop and she was working in the butcher next door.
They married at St Christopher's Cathedral, where Mr Commisso's funeral will be held next Saturday, August 26 at 1.30pm.
Mr Commisso's sons will continue to run the business.
"It's not going anywhere, it's part of Canberra's history now," Marcus said.
The family said Mr Commisso was "loud" and "larger-than-life".
"You always knew when he walked into the room," Mrs Commisso said, with a smile.
