Coming Soon: Cobb Lane Bakery To Open in the CBD

In a city packed with excellent bakeries, proper slow-fermented sourdough is surprisingly rare in the CBD itself. Husband and wife Matt Forbes and Amy Newman will im-prove the situation in March when they open the fourth location of their respected bakery Cobb Lane.

The couple started the business in 2013 at a small shopfront in Yarraville, leaning on Forbes’s experience in the kitchens of top-tier restaurants including Noma and Vue de Monde. They now run outposts in Richmond and South Melbourne, and bake a vast range of breads, doughnuts, cookies, viennoiserie and pastries for more than 200 wholesale clients.

The CBD location, in Bennetts Lane and near Caretaker’s Cottage, will largely cater to hungry office workers with takeaway pies, sausage rolls, sandwiches, pizzettas and loaded focaccias. Dukes Coffee has been lined up to supply coffee beans for espresso, with filter coffee cameos from Wood and Co and other roasters Forbes and Newman like.

“We did a lot of sitting in Wesley Place, just watching people and getting a feel for the area, Forbes says. “It’s an awesome spot. There’s so many cool cafes and restaurants and bars.”

“And as we discovered more about Bennetts Lane itself and the history, it was really exciting to us to be able to bake again on that site,” Newman adds, referring to the lane’s history, where baker and pastry cook John Brenssell is said to have operated from as early as 1860.

Cobb Lane’s bakers will be on-site from about 4am, to fire 36-hour fermented sourdoughs in white, seeded, multigrain and light rye varieties, plus chilli ciabatta, baguettes and focaccia. They’ll keep going throughout the day, giving those office workers the option to take home fresh bread for dinner or breakfast the next day.

Cobb Lane will open at 1/17 Bennetts Lane, Melbourne in March 2026.

cobblane.com.au