Alex Crawford – aka the Sugar Man – has finally torn the wrapping off his ice-cream-coloured chocolate shop. It’s bright and playful – with white walls and a pink ceiling offset against a kitchen slathered in dark chocolate brown. “We got the idea from Neapolitan ice-cream,” he says.
The shop’s name – in blinding pink neon – hums in the front window 24/7, making the Hutt Street spot impossible to miss. Dessert-themed artworks including “chocolate tiles”, a 1930’s-era chocolate tin and other works designed by Crawford’s partner Alexandra Lloyd (who also illustrates the brand’s packaging) hang inside. “The only [art] that’s not Australian is a Chupa Chup painting we found in Czechia,” Crawford says. It’s been transplanted from the pair’s home for an extra splash of personality.
Otherwise the narrow shop is open and sparse, immediately drawing attention to a series of gleaming bell jars, each containing a solitary chocolate block. Customers are invited to pick their favourites from a core range and seasonal guest stars, with orders boxed up on the spot.
Expect “poshed up” flavour combinations like rhubarb and custard – for which Crawford uses “a blend of our own homegrown rhubarb [and] some that I get from the Adelaide Hills” – fairy bread and white chocolate, and marmalade croissant, flavoured with oranges from his grandmother’s 64-year-old orange tree. “It’s an ode to my grandfather who used to have a spoon of marmalade with his glass of port after dinner,” Crawford says. There’s also flame-roasted macadamia in caramelised white chocolate, peanut butter caramel in 66 per cent dark chocolate, a Milo bar and a hot cross bun flavour.
Straight-shooting single origin blocks are also available, ranging from 46 per cent Santo Domingo milk chocolate to a super-dark, 72 per cent Venezuelan number.
Each weekend the Sugar Man will turn out a limited batch of specialty pastries, which customers can pre-order online and collect on Saturday mornings. His pain au chocolat is twice-baked for a doubly decadent flavour, and his almond croissant is stuffed with Willunga almond frangipane. “Our strawberry and cream doughnut uses cream with a touch of white chocolate, for both texture and flavour. We don't use any colours or flavours in either our chocolate or pastry range,” Crawford explains.
He’s also adding a single-origin dark chocolate macaron with shells made from pure cocoa mass and filled with chocolate ganache and burnt butter cookies with a blend of 62 per cent and 70 per cent dark chocolates.
Crawford is enjoying the shift from trading as a wholesale-only business to incorporating self-managed retail. “It’s been really great to finally talk to our customers,” he says. “I love finding people who don’t know the brand and introducing them to it, and our ethos.”
Crawford is also a staunch advocate for his home state, and he actively seeks and celebrates local produce. “I’m proud to be South Australian. I’m proud of our produce and the farmers – all the producers that we have in this state – and I want to represent that,” he says.
“Neighbours have welcomed us with open arms. The community is really friendly. They’re happy to have us here, adding something new and cool to the street – which is very humbling.”
The Sugar Man
197 Hutt Street, Adelaide
0439 663 236
Hours
Tues to Fri 10am–3pm
Sat 8am till pastries are sold out
