Labour of love bears fruit
Cellar door and cafe to open soon
MORE than five years after work first started on Rosalie House’s cellar door and cafe project, the Thompson family’s “labour of love” is about to bear fruit.
It has long been Doyle Thompson’s dream to own and run his own vineyard and cellar door.
He planted grapes on his Lilyvale property, outside Meringandan West, about 12 years ago.
Within three years, Rosalie House was producing wine, and since 2013, he and his family have been focussing their efforts on opening the cellar door and cafe.
The building itself is a converted and extensively renovated railway cottage that was originally situated across the road from the former Bellevue Hotel, in Toowoomba.
Now just weeks away from opening, it finally feels like the Thompson family’s hard work is paying off.
“It’s amazing. It’s going to be great once we get customers coming through the door,” Mr Thompson said.
The goal will be to use as much Darling Downs produce as possible, his daughter Renee Brown said.
“We want it to be intimate here and relaxing and we want people to get a really good feel of the region and the country,” she added.
The fully licensed cafe and cellar door will be open Wednesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner, and for breakfast on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
As well as being open for coffee and cakes, the cellar door will also offer wine tasting and platters.
The cafe faces west, making for brilliant sunsets over the valley toward Oakey.
“The sunset is magnificent. Most of Toowoomba considers their best views on the other side of the range, but they need to come and see this because it’s pretty incredible,” she said.
An opening date for Rosalie House Cellar Door and Cafe will be announced on their Facebook page and website in the coming weeks.
Group bookings will be encouraged.