Nobby Beach Foster’s Bakery owners Melissa and Stuart Foster clear up rumours

Rumours are flying the Gold Coast’s most beloved institution of baked goods is set to close amid light-rail chaos. Here’s what’s happening

"Not the jam donuts!": Rumours are rife that a landmark Nobby Beach venue is closing up shop.

Gold Coast jam doughnut lovers, relax.

Rumours of the demise of an iconic city institution, Foster’s Bakery at Nobby’s Beach, have been greatly exaggerated.

After weeks of anxiety, hearing whispers from multiple sources that the end to my favourite apple doughnut was nigh, I had to seek the truth from the source.

So here is the hot goss, fresh from the baker’s oven: Foster’s Bakery is here to stay.

Melissa Foster, whose husband Stuart took over the bakery after his father founded it in 1982, insisted the establishment was not going anywhere.

“We’ve heard the rumour ourselves, but it’s not true,” she said.

“We closed for two weeks to have a family holiday, we haven’t had one in years and years, and I think people just got worried.

“Stuart has one morning off a week where he doesn’t have to wake up before midnight and he just needed to be able to switch off and be with the kids.

“Given we’re a very hands-on family business, it’s hard to leave the staff to run the whole shop while we’re overseas. It’s easier just to close entirely and not have to worry.

“It’s sweet that people cared so much, but we’re back to business as usual.”

Foster's Bakery at Nobby Beach

The fact that Foster’s will keep the Coast in pies for years to come is a relief not just to carbaholics like myself, but to every local who treasures the history of this city.

With so many changes to the Gold Coast, some for the better and some not so much, this bakery is like a living time capsule.

It was there when Magic Mountain was a theme park, not an apartment block, and when the neighbourhood was full of surf shacks that sold for a song (around $40,000).

“We have people who come up or down to the Gold Coast every year and they tell us we’re always their first stop,” said Mrs Foster.

“It is precious and beautiful to be just a small but much-loved piece of people’s lives, and of the Gold Coast itself.

“There aren’t many like us around anymore.”

While Foster’s will be there to bake another day, Mrs Foster said the business had its own challenges.

She said while the bakery was surviving the upheaval of light rail construction, she was doing her best to support their neighbours who were suffering.

“So far it’s okay for us, but it’s not for others – especially at the northern end of the Nobby’s shops,” she said.

“We’re lucky that we have parking in front of us, the record shop is really struggling.

“John Holland came and saw us and said they would promote us on the radio but we said don’t focus on us, focus on the shops on the other side (of the Gold Coast Highway Service Road).

Pic of the rosemary and lamb pie! at Fosters Bakery at Mermaid Beach . Picture Mike Batterham

“It will be great when it’s all done, but we need these businesses to survive. We had 40 years to build our base, we want to see the others be able to last as long too.”

Mrs Foster is right.

While Nobby’s deserves some improvement, with many of those older shops fronting the Highway in need of repair, it’s all about making sure we have the right mix of ingredients when it comes to character, culture and amenity.

Better public transportation will be wonderful, but we want to make sure that what draws people to Nobby’s still exists.

And if we’re looking for the right recipe, I’d say the newly opened Oxley 1823 is an excellent blueprint.

Housed within its gorgeous new facade are a host of local operators – including the return of the suburb’s beloved butcher Gourmet Meats inside the Oxley Grocer, to Burleigh cafe king Brodie Green’s new caffeine institution Buoy.

Already the little retail village is the talk of the town, and Mrs Foster said it was proving a positive for older establishments as well.

“It has brought so many people here, it’s been incredible,” she said.

“Everyone checks out the new place but then wanders along to the older shops too. It’s really been great and a good boost before Christmas.

“We just need all the local support we can get.”

While there’s no need to worry about securing your Foster’s Bakery fix in the future, there’s nothing wrong with regular visits to keep tabs on the business – just remember, sometimes they need a holiday, too.

So perhaps it’s best to buy those apple doughnuts in bulk. Just in case.

Originally published as Nobby Beach Foster’s Bakery owners Melissa and Stuart Foster clear up rumours