Work is officially underway on the transformation of one of the CBD’s best-known venues, with construction starting on the newly renamed Hotel Lismore, formerly Mary G’s.

The venue is owned by the Waratah Hotel Group, and has now moved into the build phase after securing council approval, a milestone Manager Cath Simes says has been a long time coming.

“It’s finally going ahead, and the DA is all approved,” Cath said. “My builder, Mick Mackney, is in full swing. The big screen’s the only thing left there for now, the bar’s been taken out, all the toilets are out - everything’s being redone.”

Most of the major work is happening at the back of the building in the old nightclub space known as The One, which will soon look very different. The once-dark club is being reimagined as a light, open beer garden and dining area.

(This is the area where the bar once stood.)

“The grand plan is for a beer garden and dining area,” Cath explained. “I still want to have Sunday sessions and maybe DJs, but because it’ll close earlier, it’s not a late-night venue. We just have to see how the design works with noise.”

While the space will be open and inviting, the ceiling is staying put, a practical choice every Lismore local understands.

“It rains in Lismore,” Cath laughed. “Keeping the ceiling makes it easier. There’ll be a bar, small dining, you can get food up there, a small selection.”

The renovation will unfold in stages, with this stage expected to take around six months. Stage three will follow, but is still subject to DA approval.

“The toilet configuration completely changes,” Cath said. “There’ll be a kids’ area right up the back where the stage used to be. There’ll be air conditioning and glass doors. We were going to keep some of the brickwork open, but it gets pretty hot, so now it’ll be a separate area where parents can watch their kids and relax.”

The bar will also shift to create clearer flow. “We want it so when people walk in, they can see upstairs,” Cath said. “Not just, ‘Where’s upstairs? What are you talking about?’”

(Looking towards the toilet area, the new playground will be in the left of this image.)

Stage three takes the transformation even higher - literally. The plan includes moving gaming upstairs, adding a bar, pool tables, and, importantly, creating flood-resilient storage and operations space.

“We needed higher,” Cath said. “We can’t get all our belongings off the premises like some other places can during a flood. It’s too much. So having an area left for flood is really important.”

A new lift on Keen Street will eventually link the street directly to the new beer garden, part of an effort to make the venue more accessible and visually open.

“It’ll be like two separate buildings in a way,” Cath said. “Stairs going up in the middle, more open, we're still working out gates and things like that.”

For a venue that has been largely unchanged since the 2022 flood, the pace of progress is energising.

“Mick’s got so much done in the last few weeks, I can’t believe it,” Cath said. “We’re hoping plumbers go in soon, then tilers, then a bar. It’s exciting.”

The rebuild reflects the broader story of renewal across Lismore, familiar venues changing shape, finding new purpose and responding to a community that’s rebuilding its rhythm.