CBD smash burger joint Jumbo has quietly closed after six months of operation. While the short-lived site had been drawing a crowd in the evenings, co-owner Saba Maghsoudi says the menu, which specialised in thinner, crispier, more caramelised burger patties, failed to resonate with the corporate lunch crowd.
“For us, hospitality is a form of creative expression. Jumbo was no different – a space to gather community through food, music, and events. Culturally, the concept was a win. Unfortunately, it’s a numbers game and you need volume during the day,” he tells Broadsheet.
“We were happy with the nights. The consumers got around it. But in a space like that you need both to hit. Maybe burgers are a less realistic thing to have consistently for lunch and takeaway, whereas a sandwich is a proven staple. You have to take the emotion out – we loved the concept, but sometimes if you love something you have to let it go.”
Rather than shut up shop, the team – which includes co-owner Elijah Makris and chef Jimmy Garside – have decided to flip the space into a third Pinco Deli site known as Pinco Italian Food Club.
“We always wanted an evolution of Pinco ... to offer pasta, bring in some culture and have a more in-depth offering while keeping the brand the same,” says Maghsoudi, who opened Pinco’s first CBD spot in the former Paddy Barry’s site in August last year.
That evolution includes a refreshed sandwich menu (featuring new items like fried chicken a la vodka; smoked turkey with bacon and egg; and a spanakopita melt) plus pastas and small plates for lunch and dinner.
“We love the space … the surrounding, the real estate, the alleyway,” says Maghsoudi. “For some time now, we’ve been wanting to activate the [Pinco] brand after dark. So we’ll continue the jazz nights. We love how it felt in that space, in the courtyard. Moving forward, we might have more chef focused [events] and collabs.”
The interiors by Makris, Brown and Maghsoudi’s design office 2049 will lean further into Pinco’s “retro future” aesthetic while adding inspiration from Italian diners in New York and LA.
Pinco Italian Food Club is expected to open in February at 50 Exchange Place, Adelaide.