Lawrence shop to undergo major renovations

The new Lawrence General Store owner Mark Lynch has revealed that the property will undergo a complete transformation.

New Lawrence General Store owner Mark Lynch has revealed that the building will undergo a complete transformation.

Since taking ownership in 2020 after Ken and Diny McFarlane retired, Mr Lynch said despite a few hold-ups due to floods and persistent rain, plans to renovate the property were still going ahead with the kitchen due to be completely gutted in the coming weeks.

“Step one is to renovate the shop so it’s brand-spanking new with disabled access, and up higher out of flood water,” he said.

“However, we want to do it in a way that it won’t lose the charm of the shop.”

After the March flood shut down the petrol pumps, Mr Lynch said he will also explore a fuel upgrade.

“There had been some contamination in there so we pumped it all out,” he said.

“But that’s just not a practical solution every time this happens so we’re looking into replacing the underground tanks with smaller, non-intrusive above-ground tanks that can be safely disconnected and moved during a flood.”

Diny McFarlane, former owner of the Lawrence General Store looks out over the rising flood water level from the steps of the shop. Pic: Dan Himbrechts

Some may call it a Lawrence tradition to come down to the shop and help lift heavy items up out of flood water. However, Mr Lynch said he wants to relieve community members of this task.

“We’ve got a program to raise the floor even higher because flood water can easily reach 300mm above the shop floor,” he said.

Mr Lynch said there were other major plans for the adjoining land behind the shop, but that it was too soon to reveal them just yet.

In the meantime, customers will have noticed the facade of the shop steadily change over the weeks – marked primarily by a dry spell.

“I’m sick of the rain!” Mr Lynch laughed.

“I’ve been trying to get the painting done but I’ve not been getting as far as I’d like with all this wet weather.”