While existing businesses try to remain afloat, this couple took the plunge, opening a bakery during a global pandemic and making it look easy.

Four months ago, no one could have predicted the situation we’d be in now, with businesses closed and lockdowns in place to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Many small businesses have been thrown into a tailspin trying to adapt to the present circumstances to keep afloat, but after over a year of planning, Eddy Tice and Ania Kutek weren’t about to let a little thing like a global pandemic throw their hard work out the window.

Eddy and Ania are the owners of stunning new Brisbane bakery, Superthing, and despite the terrible timing, they’re overjoyed to have realised their dream of opening their own store.

“It’s not ideal, obviously. It’s been a bit of bad luck,” Eddy said.

“I guess at the same time, we’ve had a bit more time to hone our product. We’re doing croissants, which is all pretty new, so it’s been a kind of nice way to ease into it, rather than having to deal with a full dining area on top of everything else.”

When asked whether they had considered not going ahead with the opening on March 22, Eddy said “not really”.

“We considered possibly delaying it,” he said.

“It was a long time in the making to plan it – we’ve been planning pretty much since the start of last year – so the timelines were pretty set and we couldn’t really move them too much. We didn’t know how long this would drag on, but it wasn’t going to stop us.”

Fortunately, it isn’t their first foray into the world of bakeries and business, already having NYC Bagel on Vulture Street and Chermside (location temporarily closed due to coronavirus), so they were coming in with experience and open eyes.

In terms of opening during a global pandemic, of course it couldn’t go exactly as planned, and it may be a while before customers can sit in and enjoy Ania’s beautifully designed dining area.

“We had to strip back the menu side of things and the range of product,” Eddy said.

“We had planned to do a lot more, and you can when you have a bigger turnover of people. We simplified the menu a lot and based it around takeaway.”

Until now, Superthing has been offering home delivery and takeaway, and have just started with Uber Eats, hoping that will provide more income. Despite the unfortunate timing, Eddy said the West End community had been supportive and welcoming, and they’ve even started getting a few “regulars” coming in.

“The community has been great,” he said.

“They know it’s terrible timing, but the feedback we’ve got is that it’s great to see a bakery in West End.”