The humble cob loaf was a staple of any party of the '90s and its about to have a resurgence thanks to a new Wollongong artisan cafe.
Rose Lane has just opened inside Wollongong Central and will be serving up mini-cobs for one, or cob's to share, every day of the week.
Dressed up like a "neon jungle", the new cafe is a joint venture between Chatterbox Market matriarch Natasha Cuevas and her partner Paul Rose.
"We're a bit old school and from the '90s, and I've got friends that when you go to a party, that's what they bring and if they don't bring it, everyone's really disappointed and angry," she said.
"You can have a lot of fun with it and make it look amazing and be creative as well as it being tasty. It's a party, it's about having a good time. That's what we want to embrace with all our projects, its all about loving life."
For now they will serve a small a variety of cobs - along with other cakes, coffee and cafe-style goodies - with the aim to increase on that and have one for every occasion.
First up will be the traditional cheese and spinach cob (the life of any party), a hot bacon and cheese cob and then a Mexican-inspired cob.
A fairy-bread cob loaf is also on the future agenda, Cuevas said.
"One of the managers, she said to me: 'you're industry disrupted, you always do something a bit different', which I thought was kind of cool," she recalled.
Just like the larger artisan collectives, Chatterbox, the cafe will stock an array of "gift shop style" goods from local makers and producers. Think candles, jewellery, crystals, plants and dried floral arrangements.
Cuevas also mentioned there were greater plans for the space to incorporate the lane-way out their doors towards Market Street, but the public will have to wait for that exciting announcement.
For now, check out Rose Lane, Level 1 of Wollongong Central in the Keira Street building. They're open seven days a week.
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Desiree Savage
I write about arts and entertainment, plus other bits and pieces in between at the Illawarra Mercury.
I write about arts and entertainment, plus other bits and pieces in between at the Illawarra Mercury.
