Ol’ Mate, a bright yellow café on wheels, is an Avondale institution. Its equally sunny owner, Bree Bauer, is a familiar face in the caravan, serving up mouth-watering toasties and divine coffee to her legion of loyal customers.  

“It’s always been a dream to own my own café. I’ve been working in hospitality since I was 14,” smiles Bree. “I started in my uncle’s catering business and have worked in cafés ever since. I love connecting people through food.”

Ol’ Mate started in a rented retro caravan, but after a couple of years, Bree decided she’d like to own her little space. “My dad actually built the current one,” she says. “He gutted the whole thing and built everything from scratch. Ol’ Mate is very much a family business. I swear all of my customers have probably met my dad or brother or sister-in-law. Definitely my kids!

“We’re going for a very family-orientated vibe with Ol’ Mate. I want it to be welcoming, bringing the community together basically. I want you to be comfortable at the café. Kind of a home away from home.”

The yellow caravan will always be close to her heart, and she’s definitely not closing her Avondale café, but the mum-of-two is very excited about expanding her business to a bricks and mortar space on the ground floor of Toi, Marutūāhu-Ockham’s newest development.

“I am beyond excited,” she confirms. “And I’m up for the challenge as well. It’s hectic, especially with looking after the kids, but I’m really lucky that I’ve great staff to help me.”

Bree first met the Ockham construction team when they were working on Avondale project Aroha, which is just 200m away from Ol’ Mate.

“They were always walking past me and going to a café around the corner,” Bree laughs. “Finally, I got chatting to Mike [the construction project manager] and asked him what was going on. He admitted they had a deal going with that café. I was like, ‘Well, I’ll match it!’ That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship between Marutūāhu-Ockham and Ol’ Mate.”

Naturally, Bree was Ockham’s first choice for the café in Toi, and she was happy to us up on the offer. “It’s a beautiful space,” says Bree. “I can’t wait to start slinging coffees and Reubens there!”

Initially, she’ll be opening the same hours as the Avondale caravan, but she’s working towards a seven-day operation.

“I really want to be open all weekend, because it’s on the way to the zoo, Motat and the beach. There will be heaps of people going past. Hopefully, they’ll drop in and get a toastie and a coffee from me!”