Victoria MacLean opens Gnomes Cafe in former antiques building on William Street

A new cafe with a peaceful and tranquil garden courtyard has opened in Rockhampton’s city heart with a focus on cacao and wholefoods.

Stepping through the wooden gateway of the Gnomes Café on William Street, you would forget you are in the heart of Rockhampton as the lush garden brings a sense of tranquility and peacefulness.

It’s a throwback to the 90s when a vegetarian café operated at the property.

More recently, the building house the Yesteryears at Gnomes antique store.

Serving all things health and wellness, the new cafe menu has a focus on wholefoods, along with smoothies, organic teas and Wild Elixir juices.

Items are being trialled on the menu, including key staples like a smashed avocado and a dahl.

Most of the items also cater to dietary requirements from gluten free and dairy free or just healthy eating.

A standout item on the menu is cacao, which comes from a cacao pod and is unprocessed, making it more nutritional.

“We are focused on hero-ing cacao, which is an absolutely amazing ingredient,” said owner Victoria MacLean.

“It’s so good for your endorphins and that feel good feeling but you also get a fantastic buzz from it like you would do from coffee without that jittery feel.”

Backing up what she is selling, Ms MacLean drinks cacao daily.

“I know how I feel from it, it’s just amazing in terms of energy level,” she said.

“If there is coffee on the menu, people would go to their usual…I just want other people to try that.”

The café has had a soft opening and will open fully on December 4, with plans to extend the opening hours to weekends in the new year.

Under the roof of Wellness on William is a collective of businesses driving wellness in the community.

Victoria’s Closet by Barb Gleeson has opened in the space and she sells sustainable fashion from sustainable brands, clothing about to go to landfill, upcycled and preloved clothing.

There is also a boutique reformer pilates studio which includes mat work and a ballet bar, providing a holistic pilates experience in one venue.

A herbal health dispensary and natural beauty therapist are both opening at the site in the coming weeks as well as four naturopaths.

Workshops will also be held at the centre, including one with Holly Newton soon, who will be focusing on breathwork and ice bath practices.

GNOMES CAFE

Open Monday to Friday, 7am to 1pm

Check them out on Facebook and Instagram