Melbourne favourite bakery Baker D. Chirico is set to land in Brisbane after a long delay of the opening plans due to COVID. Owner Daniel Chirico was hoping that the first Queensland outlet of the Victorian sourdough sensation would have opened its doors in 2020, but that wasn’t to be.

“We [finalised the] plan with [the designer] March Studio at the start of 2019, and we all thought we’d have a bakery after a year,” Daniel told Broadsheet.

“It’s been a really dragged out process, but [the opening is] earmarked for September 2023.”

The new location is set to be in Newstead in a designed space that will seat 40 customers (inside and outside). It will share some similarities with its Melbourne counterparts, but the new Brisbane location will also have more of an Italian inspiration.

“Think of [it as a] modern-day Roman-style bakery as opposed to a French [bakery],” Daniel said.

“Italian bread has never been seen as a luxurious table bread. It’s always been something that’s accompanied savoury [flavours], like focaccia or pizza.”

The products of the new store, while also following in the steps of the Melbourne stores, will stock more Italian-inspired breads like ciambelle, pagnotta, and a Calabrian ricotta and corn bread.

In the interim period before the bricks-and-mortar store opens, Daniel plans on opening a pop-up bakery in the same Newstead area, selling sourdough and sweet treats.