Brooki Bakehouse, the Brisbane bakery known for oversized cookies, will open a six-month pop-up inside Sydney Airport's T2 Domestic terminal in November, founder Brooke Bellamy confirmed this week.
Bellamy said the decision to expand outside Queensland followed a poll of her online community in which Sydney was the preferred location. The pop-up will offer signature items such as classic choc-chip, Dubai Chocolate and brownie-style cookies, alongside limited-edition seasonal flavours and pink-branded merchandise including hoodies and tote bags.
The announcement marks Brooki Bakehouse's first physical presence beyond its Fortitude Valley location, where long weekend queues have become a regular sight. The Sydney site, in one of the country's busiest domestic terminals, will give travellers access to the bakery's products for six months.
The expansion arrives months after a public dispute in April when Nagi Maehashi, founder of the popular blog RecipeTin Eats, accused Bellamy of copying Maehashi's caramel slice and baklava recipes for Bake With Brooki, Bellamy's cookbook. The allegations drew sustained online attention and prompted further claims from other bakers, including American baker Sally McKenney, who said a vanilla cake recipe had been used without permission.
Bellamy responded to the criticism in a video addressed to her followers, saying her recipes were not wholly original but were personal to her. "While all of these recipes are personal to me, I cannot say that I have invented the cookies, cupcakes, brownies or cakes in the recipe book," she said. "They are all inspired from somewhere and someone before me."
She also defended the nature of baking, saying elements of many recipes inevitably overlap. "While baking has leeway for creativity, much of it is a precise science and is necessarily formulaic. Many recipes are bound to share common steps and measures: if they don't, they simply don't work," she said.
Bellamy described the controversy as part of a broader narrative that she felt was "pitting women against each other," and said she welcomed more women in business. Despite the uproar, her Fortitude Valley bakery has continued to draw customers and retain a strong online following.
Industry observers said a pop-up at Sydney Airport will be a high-visibility test of whether the brand can translate local enthusiasm into wider commercial success. The location places the bakery before a steady stream of domestic travellers and could serve as a springboard for further expansion if sales meet expectations.
Supporters have continued to back Brooki Bakehouse on social media. One fan told a national newspaper, "Scandal or not, I'll still be lining up for a Dubai Chocolate cookie." Bellamy's move to poll her audience before choosing Sydney underscores the role of social media engagement in the bakery's growth strategy.
The Sydney Airport pop-up will operate for six months beginning in November, offering travellers and airport staff access to the bakehouse's core range and rotating seasonal items. Bellamy and her team did not provide detailed staffing or further rollout plans when announcing the lease this week.