A pastry chef since he was 14-years-old, it took around five years of trial and error which led him to what he calls the perfect doughnut recipe.

"It took a lot of years and some very bad recipes," Craig said. "But here we are."

Craig is the owner of Espresso Boys Doughnuts, and his new Melbourne-inspired shopfront at Bridge Road, Nowra is a dream come true.

"I've had my eye on this particular shop for years," he said.

"I've been in coffee for 25 years and seeing all the hole-in-the-wall shops in Melbourne with all the treelined streets, I realised this was the shop for Nowra.

"I wanted to bring something different."

The Espresso Boys crew have been baking up a storm at their Nowra shop for around two months - from the classic cinnamon, to a loaded Caramilk creation, and even a pink Simpsons-inspired design.

But the journey started in Craig's kitchen, where he would bake doughnuts, experiment with recipes and give them to his friends. In 2016, he started selling them at the Berry Markets and "it just evolved from there".

"We were approached to take on the Shoalhaven Heads Kiosk," Craig said.

"We obviously said yes because that model works very well for us ... a year on it just evolved into this monster."

The Nowra shopfront is Espresso Boys first physical store, and Craig hopes to expand across the South Coast in the future

"Eventually I'd love to get another shop ... I'm not sure where, but I have my eyes set on Huskisson," he said.

Espresso Boys new store is located at 68 Bridge Road, Nowra and is open Monday to Saturday, 5am to 3pm.

Their doughnuts and coffee can also be found at the Shoalhaven Heads Kiosk at McIntosh Street, Shoalhaven Heads and is open Friday to Sunday from 7:30am to 1:30pm.

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