When you find a family who are making delicious gluten free treats within walking distance from home it is a find too good to keep to yourself. Urth Cafe and Co (www.urthcafeandco.com) sits on the busy frontage of Hume Street at Number 195. Its location is perfect for the continuing businesses expanding in this part of Toowoomba, and has become a regular drop in spot for locals. It is an ideal spot for that quick breakfast business meeting over a coffee as much as it offers a relaxed atmosphere for friends meeting over a leisurely morning coffee chat or lunch.

When the lovely matriach and owner, Julie, knows the regulars by name and all the staff can recall their orders, there is that sense that this place really cares about each individual customer. When you feel valued you are happy to return time and time again. Out of towners from afar afield as Inglewood and Brisbane also make regular return visits.

Julie had been in the catering business for 20 years when, as a mother of four girls, decided to make their future security a priority. So the family-run affair began in Hume Street.

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The difference between this and other local cafes or coffee spots is the homemade delicacies which jump out of the showcase at you. How great to have a daughter who just loves experimenting with the sweets selection!

Even more intriguing than the sweets cabinet is the origin of the name of the business. The name Urth came from one of Julie’s daughters and hearing it in association with the Kardashians of popular culture fame in the USA. The family had been really finding a name difficult, but this sounded homely, down to earth and fun and the name stuck.

The homely feel permeates through the whole place and the outside area is protected against Toowoomba’s cooler, rainy days. Though the rich hot chocolate certainly helps there! Family members also pitched in to make the robust furniture.

Juggling family life and a home-based catering business definitely seems to have suited Julie. Her calm and balanced approach to the pressures of a competitive food business, especially in times of restrictions, have seen the catering side really blossom. With regular orders from services such as the police and ambulance, and catering for special events like the charity Cabarlah Ladies Day it has become a big part of their excellent reputation. I can personally vouch for the quality, quantity and diverse range of the catering packs – as a coeliac, it was such a pleasant surprise and very yummy!

Last minute orders; community support for fundraisers and feeding the hungry in times of crisis like the 2011 floods are all taken in her stride, and have broadened Julie’s experience and reach across the city.

Julie’s goal is to make Urth Cafe and Co a Destination Cafe for Toowoomba – a place whose fine reputation has been hard won through the family unity and the strength of their food, their friendliness and sweet service. Get on down to Urth.