Croix Croissant opens Briox Deli, a new Fortitude Valley dispensary of scrolls and sandwiches

Since opening in December 2023, Croix Croissant has evolved into a pilgrimage-worthy destination for pastry heads. Rizka and Audi Krisnandika’s Melbourne-born concept is famed for its multicultural flavour combinations that push the humble croissant into bold, tantalising new territory.

Recent years have seen the duo expand their repertoire slightly. If you’ve made the journey to Croix’s Hillcrest HQ in the past year, you might have seen some new items in the cabinet – specifically, cinnamon rolls.

The reasoning behind the new addition is twofold – first, to continue the experimental lean that has made Croix a suburban sensation, and second, to help navigate the current cost-of-living crisis affecting businesses and customers alike.

“The last two years have been a really difficult time for hospitality, everything is going up and customers aren’t spending as much,” explains Rizka. “We still wanted to create something new – diversify and come up with a strategy that’s a little bit alternative, to fit in with customers’ buying power.”

After a year of trialling new products at Croix, Rizka and Audi decided to establish a new outpost dedicated to their newest product range. Enter Briox Deli (pronounced ‘bree-ox’), a slender dispensary of sweet treats and stacked sandwiches, now open a scroll’s roll from Valley Metro’s Brunswick Street entrance.

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“We realised we couldn’t fit this new product in with our current brand, because it’s all about croissants and people love it,” says Rizka. “We found this perfect location next to the train station. Fortitude Valley is very busy – people commute every day.”

From the street, Briox Deli is simply a shopfront with a counter, pastry display and a set of automated coffee taps. Behind sits a kitchen, where the crew bakes its goodies daily and makes its sandwiches to order.

The sweets are what will catch the attention of most people passing by, with the cabinet stacked with trays of drool-worthy items. Croix staples like the French butter croissant, pain au chocolat and twice-baked almond croissants sit alongside a tangy lemon cheesecake croissant bun and a Valley-exclusive creme brulee croissant bun.

Most of the cabinet space is dedicated to cinnamon scrolls, led by a classic number and a pandan version with coconut and brown sugar. There’s also a rotating option, which – when we visited – was a tiramisu scroll.

“The dough itself is the one that we’re proud of – we haven’t seen anyone doing something really soft and fluffy like this,” says Rizka.

Rizka and Audi are also applying their talent for flavour fusion to a selection of sandwiches, ranging from bulgogi cheesesteak rolls and butter chicken sandwiches to eggplant balado sambos and K-BBQ crispy chicken focaccias.

“We’ve always wanted to add sandwiches at Hillcrest, but the customer profile doesn’t really match,” explains Rizka. “The selection is what we think would fit in with Australian culture – people love butter chicken, cheesesteaks are very trendy. We just twist that a little bit, because fusion is the X-factor for our brand.”

For drinks, Briox Deli’s taps are currently dispensing cold brew and iced lattes (both of which can be upgraded with cold foam) using beans from Melbourne’s Moto Bean Roasters. Expect the beverage offering to expand soon, with new specialty sips currently in the R&D stage.

“I’m planning to have alternating beverage options as well, like tiramisu lattes, peanut-butter lattes and a Mont Blanc,” says Rizka.

Briox Deli is now open to the public. Head to The Directory for operating hours and other details.