News

Founded by four girlfriends from Queenscliff and Naremburn, the Little Shop of Waffles was inspired by their collective 30 years of living and travelling around Europe and Asia. After noticing the Hong Kong street food, known as bubble waffles, were a popular treat around the world, the friends, Irene Zalami, Saskia Schuck, Naomi Mourra and Alex Potter, found their favourite dessert was missing from their new home areas on the Northern Beaches and North Shore. Made using flour, eggs, evaporated milk and sugar, they are poured into moulds to get their bubbly shape.

The four friends added an Aussie twist to the concept with flavours like Pavlova, which combines Pavlova gelato with fresh fruit and meringue inside an original waffle, and ChocBerry, which has a choc-cookie gelato, fresh strawberries, Oreo biscuits and a Kit Kat finger in an original waffle that’s then drizzled in chocolate sauce.

After opening on the first of January, during the Northern Beaches lockdown, the team quickly learnt just how flexible and adaptable they could be. Co-founder Irene Zalami said the launching in lockdown turned out to be a positive move for the business.

“We started with takeaway only and we saw that even in lockdown, people were looking for something that would bring some joy to their day, and a waffle filled with gelato and delicious toppings was just the thing to give our customers a little boost,” Irene said.

Any fans of waffles will delight in the unusual bubble shapes that make these waffles crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the side. Filled with your choice of gelato and toppings, the bubble waffle has already won fans at the beachside location. Baked fresh to order, the waffle batter is handmade in store, available in vegan and gluten-free options, and contains no palm oil.

As well as the four founders, the Little Shop of Waffles is made up of a dedicated and enthusiastic team of Northern Beaches locals and sources all their ingredients and materials from local suppliers.

The Little Shop of Waffles is open from 10am-5pm on Wednesday – Friday; 10am-9pm on Saturdays; and 10am-6pm on Sundays.