local, seasonal, transformative gem hits town

960 639 In Good Company | Northern Rivers
Gateway find foods kyogle logo

Gateway Fine Foods and Catering

33 Summerland Way, Kyogle NSW 2474

www.gatewayfinefoods.com.au

Visit Kyogle Northern Rivers-01
local, seasonal, transformative gem hits town

Debbie McQueen has three words of advice for anyone starting a business in Kyogle: flexibility, perseverance and patience.

They’re three traits Debbie lived and breathed when she launched her café Gateway Fine Foods and Catering five years ago.

“We wanted to provide an alternative to the other cafés and outlets in town and decided our niche would be to offer mostly gluten-free and vegetarian meals,” Debbie says. The café also has a delicatessen and retail space, selling mainly local produce, many of which are incorporated into the menu.

However, it wasn’t so easy introducing something new to the town. Debbie says it took a while for some of her customers to appreciate dishes such as quinoa salad over a more traditional steak and chips.

“And they weren’t used to seasonal products. If there are no tomatoes because they’re not in season, we’d need to explain why we don’t just get them from supermarket.”

Working with the local producers was one of Debbie’s early inspirations for launching her café. Gateway Fine Foods and Catering holds regular Long Table Lunches featuring talks and tours from local producers and farmers, all set against the spectacular backdrop of the area’s open paddocks and rolling hills.

“Guests learn about the ingredients and origins of their food and the challenges and joys of farming life and we celebrate the wonderful flavours of the Northern Rivers.”

Debbie has succeeded in building her café into a bustling local hub, which now enjoys 50% return clientele from Kyogle and the neighbouring villages. More recently, she’s extended the business into catering, transforming a vintage caravan into a transportable commercial kitchen.

“Because we have the van we can take it to school fetes, to weddings on private farms, and to local village gatherings like pop up restaurants in community halls,” Debbie says.

She has also introduced a “Hamper 2 Go” service, offering picnic hampers brimming with local produce.

“This service took some time to become known, but we continued advertising and it’s now becoming popular with tourists visiting our region.”

Debbie says her secret to success has been this: “Look locally for support but look externally for inspiration.”

And, of course, putting those three traits into action.

gateway finefoods kyogle

Share this story

Read more stories

Clean green superfood team

 768 1024 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Foods That Love You Back
Health activist Erle Astrup founded Foods That Love You Back in January 2021, and her business – which has created the world’s first affordable, alkaline shot of concentrated microgreens – is infused with the passion she has for driving it.

Alstonville quality meats image 1

main street royalty reigns

 2000 1333 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Alstonville Quality Meats
There’s a giggle in the undertone of conversation when Ashley and Tina Thomson share their claim to fame as being the multi-award winning Sausage Kings…

Dance call for Kyogle

 1473 828 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Ascent Dance
Starting a dance school just five weeks before the onset of a pandemic might have dampened the spirits of some new business owners, but Haylee Holliday took it as a sign that Ascent Dance Studio had to succeed.

Casino RSM Club

 1360 906 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Casino RSM Club
The 23 of March 2020 was the hardest day of Neale Genge’s career.

biggy pop sings support for matilda

 2048 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital
In 2020, Iggy Pop received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys; in the same year his pet cockatoo, named Biggy Pop, became the founding patron of Byron Wildlife Hospital…

grafton_physio_business_story_001

let’s get physical

 2000 1165 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Grafton Physio + Sport
You know you’re in good hands when you visit your physiotherapist and she turns out to be a world-class athlete. That’s the case for those who…

horizon motorhomes ballina 002

when opportunity knocks…

 1600 1067 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Horizon Motorhomes
When a campervan arrived on Clayton Kearney’s used car yard in 1995, and sold in seconds flat, he realised there was a gap in the market…

rod n reel woodburn nortrhern rivers

reinventing a special highway town

 1920 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Rod n Reel Hotel
Woodburn NSW is a charming riverside town with which is about to embark on a transformation. When the Pacific Highway bypass is completed…

bennett construction lismore 003

back to the future with new inspiration

 1920 781 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Bennett Construction
It would be fair to say that Bennett Construction and Ballina High School have come full circle with each other. It sounds like a back to the future…

husk distillers tweed 001

beauty and the bottle

 1280 853 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Husk Distillers
The Husk Distillers story starts in the tropical paradise of the Caribbean. Paul and his wife Mandaley Perkins were on holiday in 2009 and discovered…

stone and wood 001

not just a business, a community partner

 960 761 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Stone & Wood
“That’s like asking parents to name which of their children they prefer,” says Jamie Cook, Stone & Wood co-founder. He has been asked which of the…

The dream team

 2560 1707 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Joel Jensen Constructions
Despite the pressures of running an award-winning construction company, there’s one thing Joel Jensen strives to do every day.

building a good reputation

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Brett Harley
When the only pub in town burns to the ground, it’s a big responsibility being the one chosen to rebuild it. The success of Uki’s new Mt Warning…

A fighting spirit … and great networks

 768 1024 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Five Sixty Farms
Stranded on the roof of his house with his wife and their eight children, Pepe Fassos watched helplessly as his beloved greenhouses smashed and floated away in a tsunami of floodwater.

Generational innovation

 1440 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Australian Bay Lobster Producers
Thenus australiensis. Moreton Bay bugs. The Bay Lobster. Whatever nomenclature you want to use, there is no doubt that these crustaceans are a much-loved staple of Australian seafood menus.

all the best fine foods casino 001

our kitchen rules in the heart of beef country

 1000 664 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

All The Best Fine Foods
From little things big thing grow, goes the saying, and Casino-based business All The Best Fine Foods is certainly proof that humble….

glass lab tweed heads 002

riding the wave of success

 1000 661 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

The Glass Lab
Adam Wessel may have worked in surfboard factories since the age of 16, but it was a stint in the luxury yachting industry that sowed the…

harwood marine clarence

‘can do’ marine

 1920 1182 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Harwood Marine
About half way between Yamba and Maclean is the tiny village of Harwood, which sits on the peaceful banks of the Clarence River with its population…

Passion, patience and protein

 2400 1350 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Hemp Foods Australia
When Hemp Foods Australia founder, Paul Benhaim, discovered hemp as a food choice in the early 90s during his global travels, he had his own preconceived ideas.

A walk on the wild side

 1245 933 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Vision Walks Eco Tours
Wendy Bithell has built her multi-award-winning eco-tourism business, Vision Walks – Eco Tours, by combining her two areas of expertise: ecology and technology. Her Byron hinterland adventures are as diverse as nature walks with night vision goggles, Indigenous bush tucker tours, and three-day women’s indulgence escapes.

Start Typing

X