The Usual Joint

Jenny – co-owner and baker at The Usual Joint – was in marketing for about 9 years and was done with it. Her brother Andy was studying and he was over that as well. They’d always dreamed of opening a café together, so taking a risk, they teamed up with a close friend, Josh, and went for it.

'We’re a lot more unusual than we are usual. We’re not your typical bakery!'

Jenny and her brother get the inspiration for their delicious desserts from Japan and Korea by visiting cafés, speaking to pastry chefs and trying to imitate their recipes. From their travels, they learned enough to create their own modern Asian dessert eatery in Sunshine North.

'We’re west-side babies, we’ve grown up here, and this style of café wasn’t available for people in the area. We named it "The Usual Joint" because we wanted this place to be everyone’s usual, where people feel welcome coming to every day,’ says Jenny.

Jenny and her brother’s connection to the area made creating a buzz about the café easy. Their main focus is cream puffs, crepe cakes and swiss rolls. Everything is baked in-house and the desserts are Asian-inspired, with exciting flavours on offer such as matcha, taro, pandan and coconut, and mango pudding, just like you’d get from yum cha.

‘When we opened this café, the community was great. Every customer that walked through those doors in our first year was like, “Oh, thank goodness! We’ve needed a café here for years!”‘ Jenny says.

'It’s great to be part of our local community.'

The trio has had great support through a challenging 18 months. They operated by doing deliveries for people locally and even as far away as Doncaster and Box Hill. It was fun to know that they had far-reaching fans and that people were so appreciative.

‘We’re not your usual café that sells muffins and brownies. We’re always coming up with crazy ideas. We love to try new ideas. For Halloween, we had the "Unusual Box" with sushi, Thai green curry and avocado toast. Who would have thought you could make that work!

'Last Christmas, we released a Ferrero Rocher collections box – so based on our signature cream puffs – but when you bite into them, you’re tasting that classic favourite treat,‘ Jenny says.

'That’s my marketing coming in; being creative and trying something different. It becomes an amazing combination in the food world. It also means that there is always something exciting for everyone to try, even our regulars!'

‘Local support means we can keep our doors open and we appreciate that so much. It’s allowed us to continue following our passion.’