It was touted as a celebration of all things Italian, but Lygon Street traders say the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival's World's Longest Lunch was a "disaster" for the strip.
Streets in Carlton were closed off on Friday to make way for up to 1700 diners and a giant 600-metre-long table erected in the middle of Lygon Street as part of the annual event.
The sell-out lunch to launch the festival was described as a "decadent Italian feast" featuring recipes from the "godfather of Italian cooking", Antonio Carluccio.
But local restauranteurs said they weren't warned about the function, which they blamed for a downturn in customers and described as disorganised.
One manager who has worked on the strip for 40 years said the lunch was "the worst thing that could ever happen to this street".
"There are no customers today," said the man who didn't want to be named. "It's a Friday, it's normally busy today. The whole street has no customers.
"There is no benefit to this street. We support the street 365 days a year and they do something stupid like this and we lose money.
"We have 10 people working today and if we close, we'd make more money. They should have it in the park away from restaurants. That how people on Lygon Street make their money, by selling food."
But Melbourne Food and Wine Festival CEO Natalie O'Brien said they were encouraged by the Carlton Traders Association to bring the event, now in its 25th year, to Carlton.
"The Carlton Traders Association very much embraced the idea of us bringing people from all around Australia and Victoria to put a spotlight on what is an incredible part of Melbourne's food culture," she said.
When asked if local businesses were notified, Ms O'Brien said all protocols were followed to be able to receive a permit from the City of Melbourne.
Papa Gino's owner Alex Brosca said local businesses were angry after workers turned up in the middle of the night and started closing off neighbouring streets.
"There's no trader I've spoken to so far that's known anything about it. We weren't told about it.
"Lots of customers have complained it's impossible to get a park and get here. All of the car parks are full. It's been a real nuisance for our regular costumers to come through.
"I've been a bit peeved lately with Melbourne City council and I've written to lord mayor Robert Doyle a few times about parking.
"They want us to be part of the city but we seemed to be treated like a distant cousin."
Traders were reportedly told Lygon Street would be closed to traffic until 10pm on Friday night.
The Italian Cucina manager Gabby Morales said his biggest problem was with hundreds of diners using his restaurant's bathroom.
Morales said he wasn't warned about the event, which he thought needed better management.
"At the moment we just have to keep cleaning the bathroom. Everybody is asking, but I can't say no," he said.
"All of the car parking spots here are full. Nobody from the management came and told us."
Mr Morales said event staff had also used his restaurant's bins, leaving them nowhere to put their waste.
"The rubbish bins we have for recycling, we don't have enough. They have filled up our rubbish bins with boxes and cases from wine."
Ms O'Brien maintained the event was a boon for local business, saying "the long-lasting memories for people to return to the precinct are just extraordinary".
"We are promoting what is here 365 days a year," she said.
One Age reader said there was no advance notice or signage before the festival while another said they gave up going to the local grocer, deli and butcher due to "ridiculous traffic in local streets".
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