First Look: It’s No Sandwiches, Just Doughnuts at Hector’s Kiosk

New York City has always been a touchpoint for Hector’s Deli. While the mini-sandwich empire is known for pastrami sandwiches and tuna melts, the brand’s new kiosk on Bourke Street Mall focuses solely on another Big Apple classic: doughnuts.

Maple-glazed and cinnamon numbers have long been Hector’s fan-favourites. At the kiosk, the brand adds to its line-up while honouring its don’t-reinvent-the-wheel ethos. Head pastry chef Aram Yun (ex-Bloomwood) describes Hector’s Kiosk as “a space where we can reinterpret existing flavours in our own Hector’s style”. In addition to maple-glazed and cinnamon, there’ll be kiosk exclusives. At opening, flavours include strawberry milkshake, rum and raisin, chocolate peanut butter and evaporated milk (originally created for a Uniqlo collaboration last month).

The yeasted doughnuts are all made at the 350-square-foot Richmond production space, Hector’s Bakery. Dough is left to prove for three days before it’s cut and fried. The team now makes 1000 doughnuts per day, with 500 going to existing stores and the remaining 500 going straight to the kiosk. The kiosk will also have some scrolls and apple turnovers.

“The kiosk is an opportunity to activate the city, to make it feel vibrant. To bring back a sense of fun that’s faded over the last decade,” says Hector’s co-founder Dom Wilton. He points to inspirations such as New York street vendors who sell pretzels in Times Square, and Parisian stalls that sell crepes and roasted chestnuts. “We’re taking something that’s been loved all over the world forever, and blowing the dust off an old book.”

Wilton, who secured the site around one year ago, says the kiosk most recently traded in tote bags, but lay dormant for more than five years. It’s a seven-minute walk from the new CBD deli, which opened less than a month ago. But for Wilton, the appeal was simple. “The kiosk is really about being part of the fabric of Melbourne,” he says. “It’s about taking a really iconic corner and asking, what can we do here?” 

Hector’s Kiosk
350 Bourke Street, Melbourne
No phone

Hours:
Daily 7am–3pm

hectorsdeli.com.au
@hectors_deli