Meet the kings and queens of Lismore’s cafe scene as Lismore gets back to normal one coffee at a time
Out of the devastation of last year’s floods, the cafe scene has breathed life into Lismore CBD, giving survivors a taste of normalcy. Meet some of the friendly faces behind the counter.
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Out of the devastation of last years' floods, the cafe scene has helped breathe new life into Lismore CBD.
The city resembled a war zone in the wake of the historic floods, but some cafes soldiered on, providing pockets of hope where community could gather to sip in a sense of normalcy.
Small groups of people converged to grab a coffee or a meal from flood-smashed venues operating off generators.
Now, refurbished shopfronts slowly replace mud-caked doorways and boarded up windows.
Here’s some of the cafes which have been there for the community – and the friendly faces behind the counters.
Dragonfly Cafe – Carrington St
In the heart of Lismore on Carrington St, Dragonfly has a welcoming, yet trendy atmosphere. The food is much-loved and the coffee will have you coming back for more.
It’s been a tough three years since Dragonfly owner Kathryn O’Neill took over the shop, but she and her steadfast team have stuck by the community through the worst of it.
Ms O’Neill got the keys to the cafe on the first day of the Covid pandemic. The cafe was only open for five hours before it was forced to serve only takeaway under the restrictions.
They came out the other side to the devastating 2022 floods – taking their masks off two days before flooding hit on February 28.
The cafe was smashed and rebuilt from next to nothing.
Ms O’Neill has lived in the Lismore area for 37 years and said she “loves our community”.
She and her team reopened under a gazebo in the flood-smashed shop shortly after the floods, running on just three power-points for 10 months.
Ms O’Neill brought down a big leather couch for people to sit on from her own home, giving people who lost their homes a place to come together and heal.
“So they could sit and tell their stories – people cried, people laughed – but they shared their stories which I thought was really healing for everybody,” she said.
Ms O’Neill, a grandmother, said she treats her team like family.
“There‘s no screaming there’s no yelling. We treat each other with dignity because it permeates into the food and out into the cafe,” she said.
Ms O’Neill said she hopes to trade on Sundays soon. She is also considering live music and a special menu to give her chefs the chance to experiment.
She hopes to leave the cafe to her daughter Lillian O’Neill, who you will find making coffee most mornings.
Headley Grange – Woodlark St
Barista by day, drummer by night – Axl Delandro is the man behind the espresso machine at arguably the grooviest coffee shop in Lismore.
Headley Grange, a retro caravan reminiscent of the 60s, was initially set up outside Floret florist and cafe on Woodlark St in the CBD, before shifting inside.
Mr Delandro’s passion for music inspired the name of his trailer, and the classical rock era aesthetic in the inside.
“Every good cafe has got a cool kind of vibe around it,” he said.
“I really love like ‘60s and ‘70s rock. So the name Headley Grange is the name of an old recording studio in England, this old castle that was turned into a studio where bands like Led Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac and The Who and all these guys recorded.
“It‘s one of those names that if you have no idea what it is, it sounds kind of glamorous, and if you do it’s like ‘that’s awesome’.”
Mr Delandro arrived in Lismore on day one of the floods, February 28 last year, and spent the first few months following clean up crews and making free coffees for volunteers.
Brett and Sue Cramp of Floret approached Mr Delandro at his van one day and invited him to set up permanently in front of their shop, before the van was shifted inside about six months ago.
The interior of the van is covered with Mr Delandro’s favourite vinyls and posters of iconic bands from the golden era of rock.
His regulars have even donated band memorabilia collected over the years, often accompanied by a story of experiences with their favourite bands.
“Things that people just have sitting in their house that‘s like a throwback to when they were teenagers,” he said.
Dark Horse Espresso – Molesworth St
Brendon Thurgate and Sam Drewe own and run Dark Horse Cafe, which they opened on Molesworth Street almost a year ago, shortly after the floods.
Mr Thurgate managed Flock Espresso, which was hit by the flooding, and he believed the town needed a new cafe hub.
“That feeling of opening the front door and seeing mud everywhere and a collapsed ceiling was heartbreaking for all of us,” he said.
Mr Thurgate was born and raised in Lismore and loyalty to his hometown inspired him to do his part to help Lismore bounce back after the floods.
He wanted to give the community a place to enjoy a moment of “normal” while grappling with the recovery.
The duo also recognised the importance of helping to bring life back to the Strand Arcade and surrounding area.
Mr Drewe said Lismore has started to feel “normal” again.
“There‘s a lot of positivity and buzz around, which is why we wanted to set up a new cafe, and push to get it open quick,” he said.
There is a growing sense of pride as more businesses return to Molesworth St and band together in the CBD.
“Everyone’s been amazing and want Lismore to thrive,” Mr Drewe said.
Silent Hands Cafe – Woodlark St
Lilly Cook runs Silent Hands on Woodlark St in Lismore, which is known as a welcoming space for the deaf community. She also serves up fresh cheesecakes every Wednesday – and is renowned for excellent toasted sandwiches and homemade sweets.
Ms Cook lost her hearing to meningitis when she was two years old, but that did not stop her pursuing her passions.
She arrived in Lismore in 2022 with more than 25 years of hospitality experience.
Ms Cook almost died in a car crash on Boxing Day of 2020 and the near-death experience prompted her to pursue her dream of running a cafe.
“It made me see life in a new view and realise that I had so many ambitions I wanted to achieve – namely, running a cafe business,” she said.
Ms Cook wanted to open “a uniquely deaf-friendly place, where the hearing community could learn so much more from the deaf community.”
She opened her first deaf-friendly cafe at Guyra in April 2021 before branching out to a bigger restaurant in January 2022.
“It was a huge challenge but I loved the opportunity it gave me to prove to myself and to everyone (the broader community, family and friends) that I could do it despite not being able to hear at all,” Ms Cook said.
When her brother tragically died of Motor Neurone Disease in June of that year, Ms Cook was determined “to make another positive change” and move closer to family in Queensland.
“My boyfriend was moving to Lismore to start a new job and I decided to move to Lismore as well, so I closed down my cafe in Guyra,” she said.
Ms Cook opened Silent Hands Cafe in Lismore in December 2022.
There is a vibrant deaf community in Lismore and the wider Northern Rivers, she said.
“It makes me happy when I have new deaf customers come in from all over Australia and the world, who have heard about my cafe and made it a big point to visit me.
“And also when I have regular deaf locals walk in. I introduce them to the deaf travelling visitors and it‘s so good to see happy excited people gesturing in sign language.
“Being an Auslan-friendly cafe is very rewarding for me as it makes me happy to see the deaf community and differently abled people being included in sharing a public space with the hearing community.
“I wanted more people to learn patience and kindness and to be aware that just because someone is deaf, it doesn‘t mean they are “dumb’ or not capable of achieving their ambitions.”
Ms Cook communicates with customers who do not know sign language in creative ways by reading lips, using gestures or mime and writing messages down.
“Some of the challenges have been dealing with rude, impatient customers who have not dealt with deaf people before or had misconceptions about how to communicate with them,” she said.
“It can be frustrating at times when a customer refuses to deal with deaf staff and either walks out or raise their voices.
“I‘ve tried to deal with this by having helpful notices about communicating with the deaf put up in various parts of the cafe and also having a TV with a video recording of a person teaching basic Auslan that the customers can watch and learn while dining in the cafe.”
Ms Cook said most interactions were positive.
“ It’s been wonderful to see open minded customers come in and actually want to take the time to try to communicate with me,” she said.
“I have a regular helper who isn’t deaf, but is mute and I also have a weekend helper who is deaf. So having customers who can be patient and have an open mind to trying to communicate in a different way can be rewarding to watch.”
Ms Cook’s plan was to establish a deaf cafe and grow the business before passing it on to another deaf person to take over.
She wants to “retire and concentrate on getting my health back to what it was before the car accident”.
“So I am hoping to be able to sell or lease my cafe business before the end of this year to the right people who can see the unique vision and potential and make it bigger and better with more staff to cope with the growing demands,” Ms Cook said.
She has been running monthly Auslan classes in the cafe since March and the next will be held in August.
“It’s been very popular,” she said.
Ms Cook will announce the date on the business’ Facebook page.
Lismore Pie Cart – Magellan St
Lismore Pie Cart is an institution and the pies fly off the shelves, with owners Kim and Sharon barely able to meet demand.
Sharon Restall and her mum Kim Baker took over the cart in February 2014. Mrs Restall’s husband Brett had a link to the cart, supplying meat through his business, Dalley St Butchery.
Since then, they’ve set up a commercial kitchen where they cook hundreds of pies, sausage rolls and pastries every day.
When the floods hit in 2022, the pie cart fed hundreds of hungry flood victims during food shortages.
“We felt it was our duty to do so for the Lismore people,” Mrs Restall said.
“There were no shops open, because the whole town was destroyed.”
Today, the business can barely meet demand for its wide variety of pies and other baked goods.
Mashed potatoes, mushy peas and gravy are a common addition at the cafe on wheels.
Benchtop Espresso – Keen St
Gera Davidson has lived in Lismore for 15 years.
He’s always loved the unique vibe and sense of community of the regional city, so it was a natural choice to take over Benchtop Espresso in 2015.
“I love coffee, I love drinking it and making it and seeing the positive impact and appreciation it creates in the community and with our staff and customers,” he said.
“I also love what having a cafe in our town allows me to do, the community we can create, the ability to show our support and appreciation to our customers and to our staff.”
Disasters including three flood events in five years, two years of lockdowns and Covid restrictions were not part of Mr Davidson’s vision for the future when he took over the cafe.
However, the team at Benchtop Espresso overcame everything thrown at them and were one of the first businesses open following the 2022 floods.
“Through all of those challenges we’ve been very privileged to have an amazing support from the community and have an amazing staff that pulled through together and allowed us to not only survive, but also grow and thrive throughout all of those challenging times,” Mr Davidson said.
“We have recently taken steps to grow and expand our business and a new sister cafe in the Northern Rivers is coming up very soon.
“We’re very excited to be able to spread our unique coffee and food offerings to new communities and be able to grow the Benchtop Family even more.”
The Bank Cafe – Molesworth St
Housed in an impressive old bank building, The Bank is flat out every day of the week. It’s one of the most popular destinations in town to grab coffee or a bite to eat.
The cavernous interior of the building and its impressive interior giving this CBD coffee shop a sense of enormity.
Just down the road is the The Piggy Bank cafe, also run by The Bank crew.
Front of house manager Jess Yeigh is a hospitality veteran, bringing 26 years of experience.
“I like the fast pace. I like moving really quickly. Like it‘s kind of action packed. It’s fun,” she said.
“You’re making people happy. So it’s a good experience for myself. I can walk away happy making others happy.”
Fellow front of house manager Matt Daniels has been in the game for 18 years and you will find him behind the coffee machine most days.
The two managers who make sure everything runs smoothly started at the cafe almost seven years ago, just a few weeks apart.
In that time, Mr Daniels said they have seen the business evolve – an outdoor dining area has been one new addition in recent years.
“It's been interesting for us because how this building presents has changed so much over the years,” he said.
“It‘s constantly evolving and changing.”
Henry’s Bakery – Keen St
Henry’s Bakery Cafe is an award-winning local favourite, known for its fresh bread, hot pies, savoury and sweet items
“The cafe is a very nice compliment to our core business … breads cakes pastries,” owner Michael Lawson said.
“It also drives the theme to our savory options: Filled baguettes, croque monsieur on sourdough, BLTs on panini and savoury croissants, to name a few.”
Henry’s began as a retail bakery, a hot bread shop, in 19788 and the cafe became part of the mix in the 1990s.
Mr Lawson said overcoming the floods and getting back to business just a month later was an “enormous challenge”.
“All the uncertainty around that time was very difficult for staff,” he said.
“The only thing we could do was work hard to reopen and get things back to normal in the shortest possible time frame.”
“This came at significant expense, but was well worth it to have everyone secure in their work and income again.”
Mr Lawson said he hoped the business would dodge flooding and other hardships for a while.
“Henry’s should continue to be part of the community fabric for many years to come,” he said.
Nimbin Aquarius Cafe – Cullen St
Nimbin’s Jodee Tichborne has been running cafes in the village for 15 years now.
Originally motivated by the necessity to secure a job in my the area, Ms Tichborne couldn’t get away from the fast pace of hospitality.
“I love being a person that you meet walking down the street in my community,” she said.
One of Ms Tichborne‘s favourite parts of running the cafe is giving opportunities to young people in the area.
“I particularly love making a safe and happy workplace that gives jobs to locals and provides training and experience to our young people, that helps them gain confidence and financial independence with skills they can take with them to the city,“ she said.
Nyana Lord-Negus started working at the cafe when she was 17. Now, she is 19 and is one of the managers keeping the business ticking over.
“I get a lot of satisfaction watching friendships made between staff that outlast the job,” Ms Tichborne said.
“Hospitality can be a struggle. Putting on a smile when you have personal problems. But the struggle is easier when you are working with an awesome team.”
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