Café Near Me

With options to suit vegans, gluten-free and keto diets, as well as the pooch, there’s something
for every Mount local’s requirement at this new aptly-named café.

words Monique Balvert-O’Connor | photos Erin Cave

Carmen Furniss with her two sons, Torbin and Marick.

Carmen Furniss has just launched a long-dreamed-about venture that’s near to her heart.

She bought her first eatery (a Te Awamutu restaurant) at the tender age of 23. A few decades on and it’s time to do it again. Carmen is the proud owner of Café Near Me, which opened recently at number 8 Maunganui Road.

“Organic, earthy, textured is the look I’ve created and I think that coincides with the Near Me feel… it represents a warm hug,” the enthused, self-professed “foodie” shares. “It’s close to my heart (near me) and that’s part of the driving force behind the name.”

The name and the ambience are receiving plenty of nods of approval, as are the points of difference this

Mount Maunganui café presents.

“Our food, including a puppy menu, our implementation of a mental health policy, and our minimal waste (we’re aiming for zero waste) approach are what I call our unique selling points,” Carmen is proud to say.

As mother to a celiac daughter, she offers an essentially gluten-free menu (limited amounts of gluten can only be found in add-ons, catering for those wanting sourdough, for example).

There’s more than a cursory nod to the keto diet too. Carmen’s a-la-carte menu (there’s cabinet and counter food too) includes 12 items, three of which are exclusively keto, six are vegan and the remainder are a crossover of different elements.

If a gluten-free menu, with keto, vegan, dairy-free and refined sugar-free options are what you pine for, then Café Near Me will be close to your heart too.

Real fruit ice creams are on offer, as are smoothies and juices, the latter courtesy of Carmen and her husband’s abundant fruit orchard. Café Near Me is licensed, “so a vodka cruiser in the sun is a goer”. And the café includes an appealing outdoor area with views of Mauao.

Dog friendly, with canines permitted in the outdoor area, the café’s puppy menu features a Pupachino and two venison products supplied by the family’s Te Awamutu-based pet food range, Platinum Ranch.

Carmen wants people to feel at home in her café, and she feels very strongly about waste minimisation too.

“I’m aiming to get to zero waste and want the gold standards certificate to prove it. I have so many awesome contacts to help with this and my staff are being stringently trained on zero waste practises around set targets.”

Carmen has, for example, tapped into a new initiative – the Café Collect Incentive – that will take what’s currently not considered recyclable (for example, used napkins, tetrapack boxes, foil) and turn it into product like gib board.

“At Café Near Me there are exciting things happening. Super pumped is the over-arching feeling I am experiencing,” Carmen smiles.

Her remarkable enterprise is open from 7am to 3pm or 4pm, depending on the day (with a possibility of being open later in the peak season), six days a week, closed Mondays.

It is sited at the bottom of The Pacific building in a space that’s been home to various eateries over the years and has had a complete refit.

Contact: info@cafenearme.co.nz