Arlo’s opens with cinnamon scrolls galore
Arlo’s is now open in the former Cibo spot on King William Street, bringing grab-and-go sandos, bagels, focaccias and more to the takeaway venue.
When it came to opening up Arlo’s – a new cafe on the corner of King William Street and Grenfell Street – co-owners Jared Chahoud and Joseph Koura didn’t want to change what the public was already used to.
“Being in such a prominent location, we didn’t want to waste the opportunity,” Jared tells CityMag.
“We tried thinking about as many different avenues as we could, and it just hit us when we came in. We looked around and Joseph said ‘let’s just keep it simple. Let’s do exactly what Cibo did, that step up – just a bit different’.
“And I said ‘you know what? Yeah, that’s perfect’. There’s actually no need to do anything that these guys in the city aren’t used to.”
Because of this, Joseph and Jared have decided to opt for only “grab-and-go” options, with nothing on the menu that’s made to order.
“What you see is what you get,” Jared says. “We put it all out – both the ambient display in the fridge display – so whatever you see is available,” Jared says.
“We provide it and also we change it here and there – so maybe we’ll take out the salmon bagel, or put a different sort of bagel, take out the avocado roll. Maybe put a beef pastrami roll.
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“We switch it up from time to time.”
As for the food options, Jared says they “keep it simple” with a range of croissants, toasties and bagels.
“Then we have three different sandwiches, so we have a chicken avocado, chicken schnitzel, and a beef and mustard,” Jared says.
“And then we have three focaccia slices which is like a… [thicker] pizza slice and there is a salami one, a bacon one and a vegetarian one.”
Jared says he’s noticed trends in Melbourne – like cinnamon scrolls and Basque cheesecakes – and has decided to offer those sweets at Arlo’s as it’s “a perfect spot to have it”.
“Then we move over to our ambient display, which has three Basque cheesecakes. We have a matcha one, a honey one, and a regular one,” Jared says.
“Then we have three variations of cinnamon scrolls: an original one, a blueberry and a Frangelico.”
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As for drinks, they’ve got a range of “fan favourites” like matchas and juices.
“We haven’t done any crazy drinks, obviously, in due course, we’ll do specials, and we’ll do other bits and pieces to keep up with the market and the trends,” Jared says.
“Also we want to be very engaged with customer feedback…we want to take it on board.
“The beauty of our menu is we can continue to update it as time progresses, which is beautiful.”
As the food offering is a step above what was originally here, the interiors follow suit.
Jared says when he first walked in the venue, he knew he wanted to do something different with the seating area.
“When we had walked in here initially, I knew straight away that I had to utilise this dining area – it’s actually pretty large,” he says.
Jared says this dining area was just booth seating before they turned it into the earthy-toned and art-filled area it is now, with both booth and bar seating available.
“We wanted to make it as warm and inviting as possible, and that’s what it is,” Jared says.
“You walk in there…you sit here, do your work. Have a coffee, have your grab-and-go item, and it’s the best of both worlds.”
Arlo’s is located at Shop 7, 82 King William Street, Adelaide and is open from Monday to Friday from 6:30am until 3pm, then Saturday from 8am until 2pm.
Connect with the business on Instagram for more.
