Before scrolls, there was service

Long before cinnamon and cream cheese took centre stage, Seb and Annabelle were chefs – friends first, married later – working side-by-side in Melbourne’s hospo scene.

‘We met when Annabelle came in for a trial at a place I worked,’ Seb recalls. ‘We became good friends, and well… the rest is pretty much history.’

Seb, originally from Colombia, spent years working in restaurants and cafés, giving 100% of himself to every role. He loved food, but also toyed with the idea of counselling – anything that could let him help people.

‘I was always around food growing up, baking for fun,’ he continues. ‘My sister has a bakery back home, but I never imagined I’d end up here, baking scrolls.’

Then, COVID hit. And we don’t need to remind you how many random hobbies people picked up during lockdown. But, for Seb and Annabelle, one of those hobbies turned into something even their café careers couldn’t compete with.

And so, the scroll life rolled into full swing.

 

 

The dream (and voice) that sparked it all

The idea came to Seb in a dream, literally.

‘It was around 3 am, and I heard a voice saying, Why don’t you make cinnamon scrolls now that you have the time?’

The next morning, Annabelle said the same thing. ‘Let’s make scrolls.’ And so began the scroll trials – some free for friends, some sold casually on weekends – all baked with heart.

‘It was trial and error. Very casual. We started giving them out to friends, and they just loved them,’ Seb explains. ‘They ended up coming back to us and asking for more, but this time, they’d pay us for them.’

From that point, Seb juggled full-time work and weekend scroll drops. His order backlist was growing by the second, thanks to Instagram and word of mouth. But when one café in Mentone agreed to trial a tray… ‘They sold out in 30 minutes! The café got back to us and said, This is the best thing ever – bring us some more!’

The scrolls took off. Soon, they had a waitlist of 80-90 cafés across Melbourne. And what began as a lockdown side hustle had suddenly become a whole city’s craving.

 

 

Rolling into Caulfield

Before the now-famous Caulfield store existed, Seb was renting bench space in someone else’s kitchen, a favour through Annabelle’s catering gigs.

It didn’t take long for the weekend side hustle to grow beyond what a shared kitchen could contain. So, two years later, they transformed the space into what it is today – the now-iconic Sebby’s Scrolls shopfront on North Road.

‘We didn’t have a business plan. No big expectations. But it grew into something so beautiful, just from serving people with love.’

That service-first philosophy still hasn’t wavered, even at their second location in St Kilda.

‘We want people to feel like they’ve been welcomed into our home,’ Seb says. ‘We’re always asking each other, How can we give the best of ourselves to our customers, every time?’

It hasn’t always been easy – with staffing pressures, supply shortages, and broken ovens that shut the store for four days (don’t ask). But Seb and Annabelle remain grounded in their ‘why’.

‘You have to work hard to keep the passion strong,’ Seb says. ‘But when you see someone take that first bite and their face lights up… that’s the best reward.’

 

 

Community at the gooey centre

Seb never set out to build a ‘community business’. But that’s exactly what Sebby’s Scrolls became.

‘The vibe on weekends… it’s like people are coming home. That’s how we want it to feel.’

Their relationship with locals goes beyond names and orders. It’s friendship. Real connection.

‘We know their coffee orders. Their kids’ names. We’ve watched their families grow. People tell us stories about how they bonded with someone over a scroll – at work, on a date, at school. That’s special.’

Seb doesn’t just talk about community, he lives it. From Bentleigh to Ormond and back, Sebby’s Scrolls has become part of the fabric.

‘It’s mutual support. It’s real joy of actually being able to connect with the people we share a neighbourhood with.’

 

 

So, what makes a Sebby’s Scroll so special?

There are scrolls – and then there are Sebby’s Scrolls. The difference? A near-obsessive attention to detail.

‘I tried a scroll from a big-name place and thought, I can do better than this.’

And he was right. But only after a healthy amount of experimentation, of course.

‘The trial stage for our cinnamon scrolls was painful, painful, painful,’ Seb remembers. ‘But I have to say, we’ve well and truly mastered it now.’

From the cinnamon blend to the cream cheese icing, nothing at Sebby’s Scrolls is by chance. They even warm each scroll to order, because freshness is non-negotiable.

‘We want every customer to experience a scroll that’s just come out of the oven. That moment of wow.’

The menu keeps evolving, too. Cheese and vegemite. Pizza margherita. Sticky date. Biscoff. Every month, a new flavour. Every batch, hand-finished with care.

‘Annabelle and I are constantly experimenting,’ Seb says. ‘If we just offer cinnamon scrolls, people will get tired. So, every month we introduce a fun new flavour.’

And every month, the crowd goes wild.

‘It’s hard to get them right, but that’s the point. If nailing a flavour isn’t a challenge, we haven’t tried hard enough.’

 

 

Running the business, living the dream (and picking a favourite)

Seb’s days look a little different now – more managing, less mixing. But his passion hasn’t gone anywhere.

‘Our team is amazing. We trust them with the kitchen. That lets us focus on growing. Better service, bigger ideas, stronger systems.’

There’s still pressure: how can we get corporate orders? How can we collaborate with more people? How can we train our staff to serve the clients even better?

‘People only see the end product, but behind the scenes, there are a lot of dreams,’ Seb says.

But they’re also taking the time to bask in the glow of what they have.

As for favourites? ‘The classic cinnamon will always be my top pick,’ he says. ‘But that sticky date… oh my God. That was incredible.’

 

 

What’s next for Sebby’s Scrolls?

Don’t expect a chain of franchises anytime soon, but don’t be surprised if you see a few new ideas roll out either.

‘We want to offer people more… new products, new partnerships, more ways to surprise.’

They’re exploring corporate orders, collaborations and dreaming up fresh creations. But no matter how big the brand gets, Seb’s focus is still simple: ‘Service is the key. You can have a great product, but if you don’t serve people with love, it won’t work.’

And maybe that’s the magic of Sebby’s Scrolls. It’s not just about dough and icing. It’s about people – and the joy in watching them take that first bite.

 

 

Got a sweet (or savoury) tooth? Visit Sebby’s Scrolls to explore the menu, flavour of the month and find your new favourite.