First Look: Sunny Side Sandwiches’s Third Store Brings Schnitty and Shokupan to East Brisbane

These days, Brisbane’s sandwich game is strong, but it hasn’t always been that way. According to Mack Bowers, when he opened the first Sunny Side Sandwiches store with his wife Charline De Conto, in 2021, Brisbane’s sandwich boom was yet to arrive.

“[We went on] trips to Melbourne to see the Hector’s Delis and Nico’s  of the world,” Bowers says. “We thought to ourselves, ‘Geez, there’s nowhere to get a really good sandwich in Brisbane’.”

Still, Bowers says it took a few years for the business to find its feet. He credits its eventual success to deciding to bake Sunny Side’s signature shokupan in-house, and the sandwich boom finally taking off in Brisbane.

“Over the last 12 to 18 months, the market has really kicked into gear,” he says. “It’s been a big growth period for us, [with] social media playing a big role. It feels like everyone is looking for a good sandwich.”

On Saturday May 30, Bowers and De Conto opened Sunny Side’s third – and largest – store in East Brisbane, following the original Windsor location and a Paddington outpost that opened in 2023.

The new venue is significantly larger, with around 40 seats. It’s a noticeable shift from the predominantly takeaway-focused format at the other locations. The fit-out sticks to Sunny Side’s signature yellow branding, paired with stainless steel and timber. A viewing window into the kitchen allows customers to watch the bread being made. “When you’re queuing for your sandwich, you can see into the baking area and see the guys shaping the dough,” Bowers says.

The East Brisbane menu follows the same formula as the other stores: a tight seven-sandwich offering with rotating monthly specials. Mainstays include the best-selling schnitty sandwich with panko-crumbed chicken schnitzel, shredded lettuce, bread-and-butter pickles and herb mayo; a breakfast sandwich with soft scrambled egg, streaky bacon, caramelised onion and kimchi mayo; and a fish-and-chips sandwich with panko-crumbed snapper, fries, shredded lettuce, pickles and tartare sauce.

Exclusive for the East Brisbane store will be limited-edition shokupan cinnamon and orange zest scrolls. The drinks offering remains concise, with soft drinks, freshly squeezed orange juice and cold brew coffee on offer.

Sunny Side Sandwiches

1007 Stanley Street, East Brisbane

No phone

Hours:

Daily 7am–2.30pm

@sunnyside_sandwiches

www.eatsunnyside.com.au