First Look: A Former Lune and Wild Life Baker Has Opened Bobby’s Bakery in North Melbourne

Lune wasn’t just the place where Sam Iversen spent two years learning the secrets to perfect croissants courtesy of Kate Reid, it was also the birthplace of his business Bobby’s Bakery.

“I used to bake bread in my mum’s backyard shed with a couple of Rofco B40 [ovens] and bring loaves in for the team,” he tells Broadsheet. “One day, they had a Bobby’s Bread donation cup to pay me for the bread because I didn’t want to charge them.” (Lune was also where Iversen was given the nickname Bobby, as his buzz cut reminded the team of Bobby from King of the Hill.)

At the end of 2024 – seven years after his co-workers first funded his bread hobby and after a year-long reno – Iversen finally opened his bakery in a former mechanic’s garage in North Melbourne.

Iversen – who has also worked at Brickfields and Bourke Street Bakery in Sydney, and Wild Life Bakery and Antara in Melbourne – had been saving to buy a house, but decided backing his own business was a better investment. So he took the money he’d set aside for a down payment and opened up shop.

He says Bobby’s is keeping things simple. Behind the roller door, you’ll find unfussy baked goods such as rye sourdough, danishes, cinnamon stars, triple-choc cookies and baguettes.

But the big draw is the Cornish pasties. “I really wanted to re-create the pastry I could only find there,” says Iversen, who lived in England until he was seven – his mum is Cornish.

Iversen prides himself on making Cornish pasties traditionally (Cornish pasties have an official certification process set out by the Cornish Pasty Association). At Bobby’s, the pastry is made from lard that Iversen renders himself. It’s filled with at least 12.5 per cent beef, and only potatoes, swede and onions for vegetables. Pasties are then baked with the signature crimp seal on one side – and a pastry version of the Bobby's logo on top.

Bobby’s Bakery
207 Dryburgh Street, North Melbourne
No phone

Hours:
Thu to Sat 7am–2.30pm
Sun 7.30am–1.30pm

@bobbysbakeryau