“Small, sweet and with its heart well and truly in the right place, pint-sized Beatrix is winning over locals with its house-made sweets and warm community spirit,” Broadsheet wrote in July 2011, about a new, then-unknown bakery.
In the 11 years since, only one thing has changed: North Melbourne’s Beatrix has won over not just the local community, but people from the next suburbs over. And the suburbs after those. And the suburbs after those. With its splendid array of cakes, tarts, biscuits, doughnuts and meringues – all as good as you’ll find at more specialised bakeries around the city – the little corner store is a proper destination, with persistent queues to match.
But sadly, the queues won’t be round much longer. Beatrix is closing for good next month, owner Nat Paull announced via Instagram earlier today.
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SIGN UP“Dearest sweet hearted and toothed Beatrixers,” she wrote. “I am a blender of emotions as let you know that I am closing the shop with our last day being in early August. The relentless stress of crisis management over the last two plus years of a small business is tipping into too salty (and I am truly much more suited to caramel management). While adore my shop and have always had a supportive and wonderful team around me, I run this cakehouse as a solo owner (no regretty) and I think am a little puffed and need a hard break after 12 years.”
The good news is, this isn’t a full stop for the widely loved business.
“Beatrix and I will still be around in a way,” Paull said. “Doing some whole cake orders, pop ups and I am so excited to bring another bakebook into your kitchens in 2024 (I promise the lemon tart and cocoa sour cream layer cake are in there). I'll never be far away from an oven or a block of butter or an email if you get into baking trouble. More information to follow soon.”
Super fans will already be aware of Beatrix Bakes, the extremely good “bakebook” Paull released in 2020. More than just a collection of recipes, it’s an insight into how her strong fundamentals have allowed her to master so many different varieties of baked goods. She only buys fresh nuts in season, for example, rather than the months-old stuff most of us buy at the supermarket without a second thought.
Over the past decade Broadsheet has had the privilege of publishing four Beatrix recipes, the baking of which is surely the next best thing to the pilgrimage to North Melbourne. You’ve still got a whole month to make that trip. After then, reach for one of these:
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