Dessert cafe in Grand Central
THE brothers behind popular dessert restaurant Cioccolato have revealed plans for their new location in Grand Central Shopping Centre.
Albab and Adnun Khan, who ran the popular venue and its sister restaurant Primitivo in Margaret St until the middle of last year, plan to open the new store as part of a franchise in the original food court of Grand Central by March.
The brothers have plans for a second store in the southern Brisbane area.
Adnun Khan said the new plans, featuring new additions like a spaghetti ice-cream machine, savoury pastry options and a chandelier made in Morocco, would be something different for Toowoomba’s food scene.
“The old 112-year-old cash register from the original store will stay, we’re getting a custom-made chandelier hanging in the centre,” he said.
“We’re importing a spaghetti ice-cream machine from Germany.
“We’re going to be filling churros with different flavours.
“We’re also going to have coffee and cold drinks, we’re going to be baking fresh pastries every morning, and we’re also going to have a few savoury items as well.”
The new outlet, styled as more of a cafe than a restaurant because of the surroundings, will also sport a new phone ordering system to help customers “jump the queue”.
Mr Khan said the plan to move into Grand Central had been a long time coming, but it wasn’t finally determined until last year.
“Grand Central approached us probably two years ago, we’ve spoken to their leasing executives and we’ve finally sat down and made the commercial deal work for both parties,” he said.
The plans still need to be approved by Grand Central and the Toowoomba Regional Council before the brothers can start work on the fit-out.