TWO years after initial planning began, the Guyra Cafe opens its doors with a fresh attitude and a local feel.
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The cafe has already seen huge support from the community with a constant flow of customers since doors opened on Monday.
Owner Jodi Mitchell says she is thrilled about her new venture and hopes the cafe will be a meeting place for locals and visitors alike.
“It’s always been an interest of mine to do something like this and I’m a very sociable person.
We’re are hoping to offer a variety of food and drink like take-away food, coffee and cake as well as fresh juices and smoothies,” she said.
From the coffee beans to the bacon, Ms Mitchell says a key aim for the new business will be to support local produce.
“We do try and source everything locally if we can for example sourcing from our local butcher.
The coffee we have is Antilles and comes from Tamworth,” she said.
Local foodie Brett Nielsen believes the new establishment will be very positive for the community as a whole.
“Hopefully it gives the community somewhere nice to go, it might add a bit of spice here in Guyra,” he said.
In addition to its local focus, the cafe occupies a building with rich history, having been a bakery over a century ago called “A.H. Helyar Baker and Fancy Pastry Cook”.
Ms Mitchell says it was an important goal of hers during the cafes refurbishment to preserve some of the building’s original structures.
The building’s original baker’s oven wood fire, which dates back to around 1910, sits on public display at the centre of the cafe.
Ms Mitchell hopes it will give the community a taste of some local history.
“Inside the cafe on a wall we actually have the front of a bakers oven which they have preserved and is a beautiful tribute to what used to be here,” she said.
Ms Mitchell says the building’s owners Ben and Ashley McFarlane can be credited to the original pieces within the cafe.
“They have put two years into restoring original structures throughout the renovations,” she said.