Tributes for pioneering restaurateur

Raymond Tsindos, who was a pivotal part of the Melbourne restaurant scene, died on August 28, aged 79. Tsindos' father, George, was partner with Leon Massoni at the Florentino on Bourke Street (now Grossi Florentino). George bought out Massoni in the 1950s and, other than a brief stint on the Gold Coast in the 1960s at Bistro Cellar on Cavill Avenue, Raymond worked at the Florentino until his father sold it in 1979. After this, Raymond and his wife, June, opened Tsindos Bistrot in Bourke Street, which won most popular restaurant in The Age Good Food Guide. It closed in the late '80s. ''Tsindos championed Victorian wine when it wasn't all that popular,'' his stepson Mark Lewis says. ''Raymond will be well remembered in the hospitality industry for his sense of humour and his generosity.''