When Co-Founder Josh Kim started working on Banksia Bakehouse in 2018, he didn’t think he’d be launching the CBD bakery in the middle of a pandemic. But he had, and despite a tough beginning, the Grosvenor Place spot is creating a buzz in the Sydney CBD with its amazing selection of cakes, freshly made pastries and specialty coffee by Paradox Coffee Roasters.
“Originally, we were supposed to open after Easter break in 2020, but then COVID-19 happened, so we delayed opening for about two months until June 2020,” says Josh.
Named after and inspired by native Australian flora, the bakery and café has an aesthetically pleasing design with inviting leather banquette seating, a sleek white interior and a cascade of hanging greenery.
“After co-founding the bakery Passiontree Velvet nine years ago, we already had a bit of experience in the industry. We wanted to create a style completely opposite to our first business, a modern and simplistic café,” says Josh.
While the interior design is impressive, it’s hard to tear your eyes away from the open kitchen, where pastry chefs whip up flaky pastries and towering cakes.
“Our line-up includes Australian bakery classics. We’re known for our pastries, which are made fresh every day and are the cornerstone of our business. We’re also building our elaborate cake offering for your next office party,” says Josh.
Cakes, while rotating often, include black forest, raspberry meringue, dark chocolate ganache, and tropical sponge cake.
Two specialty coffee blends by Paradox Coffee Roasters complements the extensive cake line up.
“We use Paradox Coffee Roasters’ Penny Lane blend for our milk coffees and the Picasso Baby blend for our black coffees. We chose Penny Lane because we’re able to extract body and flavour and maintain the coffee’s caramel notes and sweetness,” says Josh.
“We put a lot of thought into the coffee we serve, because we wanted to start off right and give our customers excellent coffee. The guys at Paradox Coffee Roasters provided exactly what we were looking for. They do a fantastic job and always provide expert service.”
Josh says the bond he’s created with his staff along with accomplishing his business goals are what he’s most thankful for.
“We’ve created a positive work environment that everyone enjoys, which is really rewarding to see. It makes me very proud of what we’ve achieved as a team,” he says.
Banksia Bakehouse
225 George Street, Tenancy 4 Grosvenor Place, New South Wales, 2000
Open Monday to Friday 7:30am – 3:30pm
0434 589 806
This article appears in the June 2022 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.