The much-anticipated launch of the cult-favourite US bakery Cinnabon in Sydney took place on Saturday, January 7, 2023; it was attended by crowds and queues of eager customers. Lovers of the American chain bakery were happy to queue for hours to get their cinnabon fix.

One Sydney man, personal trainer Josh R., decided to forgo this wait, although he was inspired to try the world-famous buns. He placed an ad on Airtasker on the opening day offering $110 for someone to wait in the queue to make his purchase for him.

“The line at Cinnabon Haymarket is huge, and I’d like someone to pick up a box of original Cinnabon for me,” the call-out read.

The task was accepted by another Sydney man, Yen-Tin Liu, who told NCA NewsWire that he estimated there were 150–200 people in the line.

“It was frustrating, because they kept on changing the limit on how much people could purchase and certain flavours would sell out,” he said.

In the end, Yen-Tin was able to secure two classic Cinnabon rolls, one Caramel PecanBon, and four MiniBon Rolls for Josh, while picking up two extra rolls, one each for his girlfriend and colleague.

“She said it was good but not worth the two-hour wait,” he said.

The queues were still continuing over a week later, with Cinnabon writing in a statement on its website that, while they were very grateful for the enthusiasm and support for the launch, they were unable to keep up with the demand across the course of a day.

“…in order for everyone in the queue to get their order, that does mean that we may have to cut it off from new guests some hours before the 7pm closing time… if you need your bon fix, we recommend you get there early,” the statement read.