The Italian restaurant delivering face masks with spaghetti marinara

For Darebin residents keen on a face mask with their margherita, Tonda Italian can deliver.

Following the Victorian government's ruling that face coverings would be mandatory in the state's lockdown zones, the Preston restaurant has been swamped with requests for its locally made masks.

"When we posted to Facebook on Sunday to say the restaurant had reusable masks for sale, I thought we might sell around 200," says Tonda manager Rebecca Chick, who also owns a local textile factory where the three-layered masks are made.

"We ended up selling 3000 over 24 hours."

Available for $10 in a pleated design, or $12 for a "duck face", the Tonda masks are now sold-out but new stock will be available August 5.

"We've tripled production to meet demand," says restaurant owner Liza Aceto. "That's with Rebecca and I sitting on the ground in the factory and cutting the little bloody strings off the masks to make them look nice, mind you."

Tonda was already selling its reusable masks out of the restaurant's makeshift deli for a week before Premier Daniel Andrews announced face coverings would be mandatory from 11:59pm Wednesday.

"We had to put our thinking caps on to find a way to keep our staff in a job, while also helping our customers who have been so supportive through COVID," says Aceto.

"I've seen some reusable masks sold for more than $25, but we don't think this a time to be concerned with profits. It's about survival and helping the community as much as we can."

Chick says many customers have called requesting masks to be sent in the mail, but the restaurant does not currently have the resources to provide postal delivery.

"As a result, most people in the Darebin area have been ordering delivery or takeaway and requesting a mask with their pasta."

Mask-only delivery is available for elderly or sick people who are unable to leave the house, however. "We're more than happy to help local residents in need with free food and masks when possible," says Aceto. "We're all in this together."

In order to avoid "another toilet paper debacle", Chick is reluctant to make details of her textile business public knowledge and would prefer to keep selling masks through the restaurant.

"We don't want to become overwhelmed to the point we can't look after our local market," says the restaurant manager. "People need to remember the lockdown isn't going to be over in five minutes. We'll continue to manufacture the masks so they're available for the weeks and months to come."