Why did it take scrolls so long to blow up in Brisbane?
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it → take → Brisbane
It’s unusual for the Queensland capital to be that far behind on a particular trend when, these days, it’s sometimes leading them – think What’s Poppin’ or Sofu Gelato.
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it → ’ → them
It means there was something of an open goal for Hamish Pearce and Rebecca Ferguson when they launched Jane Scrolls in August last year.
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they → mean → August
Sure, there were bakeries and cafes doing cinnamon scrolls, and Cinnabon had long rocked into town (and perhaps its penetration and product – which, for a chain, is impressive – put off more independents from entering the market), but not
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which → be → market
so many operators were looking to drill down on this one thing and do it well.
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operators → look → it
Now, it’s opening its first bricks-and-mortar shop at Coorparoo, in the premises previously occupied by Allsop & England Organic Butcher.
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it → open → Allsop
It’s a huge change for Pearce, in particular, who previously worked in sales at a property technology company and now runs Jane Scrolls day-to-day.
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who → ’ → day
Ferguson continues to work as a family lawyer but helps with the business in the background and in-store on weekends.
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Ferguson → continue → weekends
“We opened in Coorparoo on Saturday,” Pearce says.
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Pearce → open → Saturday
“We were running a buy-one-get-one-free and there was a stupid number of people here – the line was crazy.
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line → run → people
We decided early to bake the Sunday stock, otherwise we would have sold out at 9am.”
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we → decide → 9
What are people queuing for?
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people → queue → What
Hand-rolled scrolls in six varieties – five core flavours and one rotational – and three focaccia sandwiches, accompanied by coffee from Sydney’s Single O.
“The perfect scroll has to be pillow-soft,” Peace says.
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Peace → roll → O.
“It has to have lots of flavour – a distinctive flavour profile, whether it’s cinnamon or something funky like jam or whatnot – and it needs to be warm when you eat it.
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you → have → it
That’s the recipe for success.”
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That → ’ → success
The core menu of five scrolls includes Vegemite and cheese, classic cinnamon, lemon blueberry, pecan and sticky date, and The Billionaire (Kinder Bueno and Oreo filling with a Biscoff cream-cheese topping).
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menu → include → topping
All are being hand rolled and prepared in the expansive Coorparoo kitchen using imported Saigon cinnamon (which tends to be more intense and sweeter than traditional Ceylon-style cinnamon).
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which → roll → cinnamon
House-baked focaccia sandwiches include braised chicken thigh with honey mustard aioli and fried shallots; whipped feta, avocado and tomato; and an AM-angled egg and bacon sanger with chipotle aioli.
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sandwiches → bake → aioli
The Single O coffee includes two blends via espresso, and a cold brew tap on the counter.
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coffee → include → counter
“We sell as much choccie milk as we do coffee,” Pearce says.
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Pearce → sell → coffee
“I think on the weekend we went through 50 litres of it.”
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we → think → it
Pearce handled the design, branding and colour scheme himself.
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Pearce → handle → design
He’s kept it relatively simple, with a fetching counter of vertical tiles on the front and a stainless steel top, and a simple dine-in area out the back.
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He → keep → back
Queueing punters can peer through a window into a prep room next door, with the main kitchen at the back.
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punters → queue → back
Pearce and Ferguson looked at various premises before committing to Coorparoo but shrewdly tried to focus on former butchers’ and fish and chip shops, given their relatively large back-of-house areas.
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Pearce → look → areas
“We ended up finding this one,” Pearce says.
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Pearce → end → one
“We had a vision – which we’re still working on – but it’s had lots of foot traffic, and if you have that, that’s your business right there.”
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that → have → that
Not that Pearce and Ferguson need foot traffic right now.
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Pearce → need → traffic
Pearce says they were so taken aback by the response last weekend, they’re doing a second launch this weekend.
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they → say → launch
“It’s grand opening, take two,” he says.
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he → ’ → two
“And we’ll do buy-one-get-one-free again.
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we → do → one
We’re running that from 6am to 1pm on Saturday, and we’re closing on Friday just to make sure we can absolutely smash it.”
Open Mon-Fri 6am-4pm, Sat-Sun 6am-1pm
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we → run → it
The Aporia
