Tag: North Lakes

When Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers opened in North Lakes, it wasn’t a speculative move into a new market. It was a return shaped by memory — and by unfinished business.

From Market Stall to Neighbourhood Fixture

Several years earlier, the business had tested the area with a pop-up at Westfield North Lakes. The response surprised even its founders. Locals flooded social media asking when it would be back, and many were openly disappointed when the temporary store closed. For a business that began with a folding table at weekend markets, it was a clear signal. This wasn’t novelty. People here wanted the food to stay.

That market-stall beginning still sits at the centre of the story. Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers was founded by Ben Cleary-Corradini and Theodor Roduner, two friends drawn together by Italian food rather than formal business plans. Cleary-Corradini grew up in an Italian-Australian household where time with his nonna meant time in the kitchen, learning pasta by repetition rather than instruction. Roduner, who comes from a Swiss hospitality family, spent years in professional kitchens before the idea of gnocchi as a standalone offering ever took shape.

In this video, founders Ben Cleary-Corradini and Theo Roduner explain their way of working — shaped by nonnas, early mornings, market crowds and a belief that gnocchi is worth taking seriously.

Behind the scenes, the business is split along clear lines. Theo, a trained chef with more than 25 years in kitchens, leads menu development and kitchen operations, drawing on traditional recipes, fine-dining experience and seasonal produce. Ben, who describes himself first as a food lover rather than a chef, focuses on sourcing, product development and the broader direction of the brand.

The “early mornings” aren’t shorthand. In the early days, Theo was getting up before dawn to peel potatoes by hand, working between lunch and dinner services in borrowed kitchens. When the markets sold out — which they did, repeatedly — they simply made more the following week, then more again. Eventually, the scale outgrew favours and borrowed space, forcing a decision: either stop, or commit.

Each year, Ben travels back to Italy, paying close attention to how food is evolving there — from ingredients and flavours to how casual dining is shifting.

In this video, Ben talks about sourcing the porcini mushrooms that he uses to make the bestselling Wild Mushroom and Truffle gnocchi.

Those observations feed back into the business, shaping monthly chef specials and menu updates rather than wholesale changes. The aim, they say, is to evolve without drifting.

It’s a partnership built less on hierarchy than repetition. The same approach that defined the early market days — turning up, refining the process, and doing the work again the next week — still underpins how decisions are made now, even as the business has grown across multiple locations.

Doing One Thing Well

The partners chose to commit, but narrowly. The idea wasn’t to open an Italian restaurant. It was to build a gnoccheria — a restaurant where gnocchi wasn’t a supporting player but the point of the exercise.

That decision still defines the business. Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers describes itself as Australia’s first gnoccheria, and the menu has never drifted far from that original constraint. From its Brisbane beginnings, the group has expanded steadily and now lists locations at South Bank, Paddington, Clayfield, Stafford, Middle Park, Cleveland, Ipswich, Morayfield, Maroochydore, Southport, Newtown in New South Wales, and North Lakes.

In 2025, the business was named a finalist in Brisbane’s Lord Mayor’s Business Awards in the ANZ High-Growth Business category — recognition that reflects steady expansion rather than overnight success.

Despite that growth, the fundamentals haven’t changed much since the market days. Gnocchi is made daily using potatoes, Australian-milled flour, free-range eggs, parmesan and a small but deliberate addition of nutmeg. No other pasta shapes, no pizza, no shortcuts. The reasoning is simple: if you do one thing, you get better at it.

What People Keep Ordering

Across the venues, the most popular dishes remain consistent. Wild Mushroom and Truffle gnocchi continues to lead the way, followed closely by the slow-cooked beef bolognese — the kind of traditional dish people order because they already know what it tastes like.

There are richer options too: lobster bisque with barramundi for seafood lovers, pork and fennel Italian sausage for those chasing comfort. These aren’t novelty plates. They’re dishes built to be returned to.

At North Lakes, the menu has broadened slightly to reflect how locals dine. Gnocchi remains the anchor, but lasagne, arancini and classic Italian desserts such as cannoli, tiramisù and panna cotta now sit alongside it.

The shift isn’t about dilution; it’s about fitting into a suburb where dinner often involves families, shared tables and repeat visits rather than quick lunches.

A Local Business in Practice

North Lakes is run by owner-operators Kajal and Roshan, and its day-to-day rhythm reflects that local ownership. The venue sits just off the main road, next door to McDonald’s, with undercover alfresco seating and easy parking. Some locals still remember the space as a former fish-and-chip shop, which has made it easy to miss at first glance.

Community involvement is handled in much the same way as everything else — quietly and locally. At North Lakes, the team regularly donates dine-in gnocchi vouchers as player-of-the-match awards to junior sporting clubs across North Lakes and nearby suburbs, including softball, netball, rugby and soccer teams.

Clubs supported include Lakers Softball, Griffin Netball Club, Narangba Rangers Rugby Club and Grasshopper Soccer Club in Griffin. For the business, the connection is practical rather than performative: feeding families, supporting volunteers, and staying visible in everyday community spaces.

The approach reflects how the founders and their owner-operators see their suburban venues functioning long term — not as destination dining, but as reliable neighbourhood restaurants that become part of local routines.

The customers aren’t chasing theatre. They’re looking for food that feels handmade, filling and reliable. Families, young professionals and takeaway regulars move through the space for the same reason people lined up at the markets years ago: they know what they’re getting.

Ben and Theo have been open about plans to keep expanding, particularly across South-East Queensland. But the approach remains close to the one that started it all — long mornings, simple menus, and a belief that gnocchi, done properly, is enough.

For North Lakes, that means a restaurant shaped as much by local response as by Italian tradition. The pop-up showed the appetite was there. The permanent stores are about keeping it.

Published 20-December-2025

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