Hip Hops Brewers
Brisbane’s burgeoning craft-beer scene continues to trickle north. Later this year Brendale will welcome Hip Hops Brewers, an upstart craft-beer manufacturer looking to bolster the availability of top-notch brews in the Moreton Bay area. Hip Hops Brewers is currently taking shape inside Shed 3 at The Sheds at Brendale, a newly minted mixed-use precinct from Wattle Run that has converted a string of warehouses into a drinking, dining and shopping hub. Phase one of The Sheds development saw the opening of My Oh My and The Coffee Hut, with Hip Hops Brewers spearheading phase two of the The Sheds’ expansion. The brewery’s mantra is to brew local beer for local drinkers, with an experimental lean towards wild ferments and collaborations with regional breweries helping to increase the community’s exposure to a broad range of sips. Head brewer Adam Gibb (formerly of White Brick Brewing) will be concocting the Hip Hops range, available from the taproom’s 18 taps and best enjoyed within the site’s own landscaped beer garden. Stay tuned for more info on this sudsy saloon as it approaches its opening date.

Cakes & Shit
Known for its sassy selection of cheeky confections, Cakes & Shit has earned a place in Brisbane’s sweet-treat scene for its tongue-in-cheek naughty cakes and curse cookies. The concept has been slinging its R-rated products from Fortitude Valley’s Bakery Lane for the past four years, but now owner Samantha Holman is shifting the salacious sweets concept to a much larger space in Paddington. With the advent of Cakes & Shit’s online store, increase in popularity of its workshops and a desire to grow the businesses range, Sam and her crew suddenly became in need of a larger base of operations. Later this month Cakes & Shit’s new Given Terrace headquarters will open to the public, a basement-style shop located across the road from wine bar Noir. Light-up neons will mark the entrance to the vividly coloured cake store, which will be divided into retail and kitchen space (complete with a cabinet filled with some not-safe-for-work cakes and cupcakes), a 20-seat dine-in area (which will also host the concept’s workshops) and a logistics and office area at the rear. Cakes & Shit will also be bringing its coffee machine across, because what goes better with cake than coffee? Check in later this month for a full run-down on Cakes & Shit’s new location!

Broken Hearts Burger Club
Over the past year and a half, Broken Hearts Burger Club has grown far beyond its humble pandemic-pivot origins. Now one of Brisbane’s best-loved patty slingers, Broken Hearts has flourished thanks to its focus on expanding to suburban sites in need to more burger options. Over the weekend Broken Hearts opened its fourth store on Waterworks Road in Ashgrove (just up the hill from Broncos Leagues Club). Unlike its sibling locations in Morningside, Mango Hill and Victoria Point, the Ashgrove locale is geared more towards takeaway and delivery custom, with only a handful of tables available for dine-in. The expansion marks the first step in Broken Hearts Burger Club’s ambitious plans for 2022, which involves opening six locations across Brisbane by year’s end. Come early-March the team will be on the cusp of opening its second 2022 location, with a new site already in the pipeline for West End’s Montague Markets precinct. Expect the same menu of smashed-patty cheeseburgers, fries and shakes, but with a spacious outdoor dining space to boot. We’ve been told more location announcements will drop soon, so keep your peepers on The Weekend Edition for the scoop.

Ramona Trattoria
Last week saw the announcement of some noteworthy news for lovers of Italian food and natural wine. Ramona Trattoria, a forthcoming Italian-inspired 48-seat restaurant opening in Coorparoo in March, will offer a menu of sublime hand-shaped and hand-stretched fare – think pasta, pizza and pizette. Hospitality veteran Ashley Kent (who boasts experience at Quay, Biota, Paper Daisy and a year-long stint at Tartine in San Francisco) is building upon the rustic style of preparation honed at her former position at Coolangatta’s Cross Eyed Mary. Here dough will be kneaded, shaped, cut and extruded by hand, served alongside a beverage list featuring a mix of natural and conventional wines as well as a cocktail list assembled by a well-known figure whose identity is being kept under wraps. The space itself will boast a worn-in aesthetic and an open kitchen, with Ashley aiming for a polished approach to casual dining, encouraging locals to pop in several times a week for a heart-warming and soul-enriching feed that won’t deplete the bank account. Ramona Trattoria will open in Coorparoo in late-March – we’ll have a closer look when it opens!

If you’ve heard something that’s worth mentioning in The Weekend Edition’s Pavement Whispers, email [email protected].