Canberra’s central business district is dominated by passionate experts making it their home, or their go-to destination to do business. This is a sponsored post.

ESTABLISHED in 1927, and gazetted a year later on September 20 under the division name City, Civic, also known as Civic Centre, was initially planned to have its market centre elsewhere. 

Walter Burley Griffin’s original design for Canberra included a “civic centre” with a separate “market centre” located at what is now Russell. 

However, the Prime Minister of the day, Stanley Bruce, vetoed the idea and only the Civic centre was developed.

Now, Canberra’s central business district is dominated by passionate experts, such as retailers and hospitality businesses, making it their home, or their go-to destination to do business.

Book now for a traditional Italian feast

WITH spots filling fast, now’s the time to book for Briscola Italian’s delicious

Christmas party lunch, says owner Gianni Guglielmin. 

He says people can choose from flexible banquet options such as one that features complimentary drinks. 

Located in the Melbourne Building, Briscola Italian serves wholesome and traditional Italian food in an historical atmosphere, Gianni says. 

The beautiful colonnades out the front add to the restaurant’s historical facade, says Gianni, who also describes Briscola Italian as a casual, unpretentious, but nonetheless quality, Italian dining experience. 

The family-run restaurant is owned by Italians, Gianni says, which influences their traditional menu, with signature dishes such as a homemade ravioli recipe that’s made from scratch. 

They even hold a number of awards, he says, such as Canberra’s Best Pizzeria in 2014, Canberra’s Best Italian Restaurant, 2015, and in 2016 gained accreditation from the Academy Italian Kitchen, also known as the Accademia Italiana della Cucina, by the Italian ambassador. 

Having recently expanded business hours, Briscola Italian is open for dinner seven days a week, with lunch services running Tuesday until Sunday. 

Briscola Italian, 60 Alinga Street. Call 6248 5444, email briscolaitalian@gmail.com or visit briscolapizzeria.com.au 

Getting businesses the most out of IT 

A LEADING provider of professional IT support and managed IT, OmniIT has been serving businesses across Canberra, including Civic, for more than 20 years, says partner Michael Warnock. 

As well as making IT security simple, Michael says policy and procedure is an increasingly important part of businesses, as many don’t know how to run their business in terms of how to do processes and procedures. 

“Helping people with policies and procedures around IT is a bigger and bigger issue,” he says. 

But as to the day-to-day work OmniIT does with clients, Michael says it’s tailored to them because each client needs something different. It’s about helping them get the most out of their IT, he says. 

Michael and a team of nine are based out of Mitchell and help companies across the ACT to start, manage and operate their IT solutions, saying: “We monitor computers, look for things that go wrong and fix them before they do.” 

Michael and OmniIT have been in the business for about 23 years and have developed skills in line with a changing industry, he says. 

“We started when the internet PC was something on its own in the corner of the room with just email, through till now,” he says. 

OmniIT, unit 8, 12 Sandford Street, Mitchell. Call 6230 3839, email support@omniit.com.au or visit omniit.com.au 

Mal has the ‘perfect’ comic for everyone 

THERE’S something for everyone at Impact Comics with staff on hand to help pick out the perfect gift this Christmas, says co-owner Mal Briggs. 

There’s traditional comic books, graphic novels and mangas, as well as young adult graphic novels that tackle relationships and coming of age, and, for the older reader, there are biographies, memoirs and even a graphic novel adaptation of the Mueller Report, he says. 

And with many new faces coming through the Garema Place store during the holiday period, Mal says the staff are backed with expertise to match the customer with the comic. 

“We can take a vague description from a grandmother, for instance, and we can turn that into the right comic for the person they are shopping for,” he says. 

There are brand new releases coming in every week so there is something for all sorts of comic fans, new and old, including all the big superheroes such as Batman and the Flash, says Mal. 

“And, the big superheros you’re going to hear of next year, we’ve already got them, too,” he says. 

Impact Comics also stocks comics that are the basis of many Netflix hits, including Umbrella Academy and the film The Old Guard, starring Charlize Theron, he says. 

Impact Comics, 16 Garema Place. Call 6248 7335 or visit impactcomics.com.au