Gather around new Ocean Grove café

A new café has opened in Ocean Grove with a sense of community at the heart of its offering.

Gather slid its doors open for the first time last week to hundreds of keen coffee and pastry lovers on Hodgson Street.

Owner Reife Braun said Gather was born out of a desire to connect with people from all walks of life.

“I’ve had such a cool sense of building community through something like this, hence the name Gather.

“Working in the industry for so long, you see a lot of lonely people, and so many people every day go get their coffee, so if I can just give them a smile and make them feel comfortable then it just adds to their day. I just want to build that in their life.”

Gather’s green interior provides a soft mellow vibe sure to fit any occasion, whether it’s working away from home, or catching up for a friendly coffee with a mate.

“It’s been about seven weeks since we got permits, and the fit out happened really fast!

“I’m so stoked with how it turned out. I’ve done everything myself by the licensed trades.”

He said the first week of trading was mind-blowing, with the community’s response being nothing but heartwarming.

“There was about 100 people out the front at all times, it was absolute chaos!

“We were only open for four hours, but we had people from Phillip Island and everywhere come to check it out.

“I expected it to be quite slow at the start, but the community have just been epic straight away.

“I’ve had such a cool sense of building community.”

Gather is using Common Folk, a Mornington Peninsula based roastery, as its coffee merchant.

“Their coffee is super delicious, but they are super ethical as well. They pay their farmers over in Africa and Brazil super well,” Braun said.

“They’ve got no coffee on this side of Melbourne.

“They’ve been very supportive of me and excited for me. I’m so stoked to have partnered with them and am thrilled to show off their coffee to the Ocean Grove, Geelong and Surf Coast communities.”

Braun said high quality matcha was on the way courtesy of a new partnership with a Melbourne-based producer.

Tea is provided by local Geelong company Love Tea, while hot chocolates and chai are provided through Common Folk.

Gather also features a display of pastries provided by Ket Baker just around the corner in Ocean Grove, as well as some local cookies and truffles.

“I think the product I’m able to provide is super-yummy and I’m pretty stoked,” Braun said.

“I want people to leave here with a feeling of their cup being full.”