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Dining in Dufferin: Centre Café provides Orangeville with community hub

June 13, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Gail Powell

From coffee clubs, an art gallery and senior meet and greets, to mahjong games, a quilting guild and computer mentoring for adults – The Centre Café in Orangeville is the community hub of Hansen Road.

“You don’t have to be a member of the congregation to become a regular at The Centre Café,” said Barb White, director of community outreach and children’s ministry.  “We’re so much more than a church; we’re a people-focused gathering place called to serve in meaningful ways. The Café opened the door for us to do just that.”

Built in 2011, the non-profit Centre Fellowship Church was specifically designed to host community members in a bright, open, multi-day, non-denominational space.

The building’s architectural team flipped the script on the traditional church layout — positioning the congregation gathering space on the lower level. They elevated the heart of the building upstairs with a public café, included multi-use rooms on the main level and completed the concept with vast windows overlooking nature-filled views.

“People matter to us. We want our customers to feel like The Café is a great place to connect,” explained White. “A welcoming place to spend time with family and friends, where they will be served fresh food, at reasonable prices, by amazing staff and volunteers.”

The hospitality team is coordinated by White along with her colleague and friend Ruth Gillespie – The Centre Café’s café manager.

“All our food is made fresh, with simple and nutritious ingredients, with a fair price point,” explained Gillespie. “Our egg salad sandwiches, and ginger cookies have become so popular that we were asked to make them for The Pulse Café in Headwaters Hospital.”

A volunteer team from the non-profit organization also crafts soup for The Lighthouse community meal program and freezer meals program. When the Orangeville Food Bank reaches out in need of support, the team answers their call too.

“Our café is our key outreach ministry –  connecting with one another, connecting through sharing, and serving food, and connecting with, and serving God,” noted White. “Every day we live out our faith here.”

The Centre Café is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and they accept cash, credit and debit. There is a daily $5 student lunch special which includes a grilled cheese sandwich, a drink and a treat.

For a scoop or two of Kawartha Dairy ice cream, on the west side of Orangeville, visit The Centre Café at 375 Hansen Blvd. and for more info regarding monthly events, to book space for your book club or your weekly card game, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/CentreCafe or call 519-942-9421.

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