Sydneysiders have been queueing for hours to get a taste of the cult pastries from the American bakery chain Cinnabon.
The store opened in central Sydney‘s Darling Square on January 7 and has seen wait times of up to two hours, with people prepared to queue down the block.
Cinnabon’s signature item is an instore-baked scroll coated with the distinctive-tasting Makara cinnamon from Indonesia and topped with sweet white icing, which is best served warm from the oven.
Such has been the demand, the Sydney store’s website advises customers to expect a wait of 60 to 90 minutes and warns that queues will be cut off before closing time.
On the day Daily Mail Australia visited, those edging forward into the front third of the queue had been waiting for around 30 minutes.
Gyuri and Yuna had been waiting said they were keen to try the pastries, after waiting half an hour, because friends had recommended them.
Joan, who had been waiting patiently towards the back of the queue for 15 minutes, said she had visited on a weekday because the line had been ‘crazy’ on the weekend.
Sydneysiders have been waiting patiently for the cult US pastries served up by Cinnabon
Lines have been particularly long on weekends sometimes extending near the length of Darling Square
‘They promoted it and some people were waiting about two hours all the way down the back for this,’ she said.
Having seen it ‘all over the streets’ and promoted by social media influencers, she was intrigued to try the new taste.
‘This new to me,’ she said.
‘I can smell the aroma from a distance but I am not sure what the taste will be like.
‘I think it is just going to be sweet, like its got that sugar taste to it.’
The scrolls are baked instore and have a distinctive-tasting cinnamon glaze
Dina was queuing despite having already tried Cinnabon pastries in her native Egypt.
‘I used to eat it back home and I am very much looking forward to have it again,’ she said.
‘It’s so good. I hope it’s the same here, so I am waiting here to see.’
Cinnabon, which also has six stores in Queensland and one in Victoria, has become well known to Australian fans of critically acclaimed TV crime drama Better Call Saul, which is the prequel series to the award-winning Breaking Bad.
Friends Gyuri and Yuna had never tried Cinnabon but were prepared to put in the waiting time
In Better Call Saul, the shady lawyer Jimmy McGill, who practised under the name Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad, has adopted the identity of Gene, a Cinnabon store manager, to escape his misdeeds.
The show was the reason Annie waited in line with her 10-year-old daughter Ava.
Despite being a worldwide franchise, Cinnabon scrolls are only available in three Aussie states
‘I am a Better Call Saul fan,’ Annie said.
‘It was the best series.
‘You feel for him as a human being but he continues manages to make bad decisions that aren’t ethical so you struggle to relate to him.
‘I am hoping Saul will be there.’
The promotion of the new Sydney store on social media had convinced some people to give it a try
The store’s owner, Helen, said there were queues every day but the largest had been on the opening Saturday – almost a four-hour wait.
‘It’s because we bake them fresh every day,’ she said.
‘All our rolls are handmade and you can tell, we roll the whole thing and bake so it takes time.
‘I can understand it is frustrating to wait but we just want to deliver as fresh a product as we can.’
The store has sent out samples of its drinks for customers to try while waiting on particularly hot days and has also limited the number of rolls customers can buy.
The critically acclaimed US crime drama Better Call Saul (pictured is Bod Odenkirk playing lead character Saul Goodman) has prompted a lot of interest in Cinnabon
‘At the beginning, we tried not to sell with our limit but if we don’t sell with our limit, and people were prepared to buy a lot more, the wait would be a lot longer,’ Helen said.
She said she hoped demand would remain strong but slow to the extent of not making people wait for long periods.
‘We try our best to accommodate everyone,’ Helen said.
Despite doing the same job as the fictional Saul Goodman, Helen admitted she hadn’t watched the hit TV series.
‘This show advertised for us very well,’ she said.