A safe place for coeliacs to eat has opened in Wodonga, sparking widespread demand for the cafe’s 100 per cent gluten and wheat-free options.
The Gluten Free Food Store opened on High St, inside the Wodonga Medical Centre building (formerly Tristar Medical Group), almost two months ago and has already amassed 1600 followers on Facebook.
The celiac community are fans of the cafe’s offerings - homemade lasagnes, breads, an array of sweet treats and more.
Owners Brodie Barnett, who has coeliac disease, and David McNamara wanted an all-inclusive place to eat.
“People are amazed that they can walk in here and get whatever they like and they have so many options compared to just one or two,” David said.
“It’s a safe place for coeliacs to come, they don’t have to worry about getting sick or anything like that.
“Brodie is celiac so he knows what people can and can’t eat and I’m a qualified chef by trade so I have adapted all of my recipes to gluten-free.”
The cafe serves coffee, other hot drinks, homemade cakes and slices, as well as a range of take-home options.
“We have caramel slice, lemon slice and jelly, all the things you would go to a bakery for but you can get it all here and know that it’s going to be gluten free,” David said.
“We do toasted ciabatta, salads, zucchini slice and frittata for lunch and homemade lasagnes for dinners.
“One of our most popular products are our housemade pastries, including pies, sausage rolls, pastries, and spinach and feta rolls.
“Carrot cake is also popular and we make a few of those a week.”
The owners are now looking at what they can add to the menu.
“We are looking at what more we can offer for dinner options but at the moment we are playing catch up, trying to keep the product here because the demand is high,” David said.
“We get some people who stock up and spend $70, especially when they don’t live in town.”
The business has breads delivered weekly and also has dry pasta and pasta sauces for sale.
David said there had been demand for the store to open weekends and will trial opening Saturdays from December 3.
“We are a go-to place and it doesn’t matter where we are, people are coming to us from Albury, Wodonga and out of town. We have phone calls from Wangaratta and places like that,” he said.
“We have started doing catering as well for businesses so places can offer the gluten free products.”
The business is open Monday to Friday from 7am to 3pm.