East Lismore now has a new cafe open for breakfast and lunch trading after some hard work and extended planning from local mobile pizza guru Kemal Osmanhodzic.

Kemal's new business venture East Side opened last Wednesday in the building that used to be home to Crusty's Bakehouse at 48 Wyrallah Road.

"I dreamt this and wanted to do this....about six years ago, before we even moved here," Kemal said, explaining he and his family moved from Perth at that time, leaving behind a construction business.

"We found a place near Bexhill and started planting the seeds.. and we went, alright, we're committed here, we're staying. Northern Rivers has that vibe, if you belong here, we'll keep you here, that's what I find about it," Kemal said.

The cafe idea "stayed lit on the back burner" while Kemal and wife Amy were on the lookout for new opportunities to take them out of the construction industry. That's when the chance to take over Il Carretto Pizza came along, the hugely popular woodfired sourdough pizza nights now operating at 3 locations – Clunes, Bexhill and Bangalow.

"We took that over, tweaked the recipes, built it up again...the business was pumping, still is. Its got a great community vibe, it's a night out." Kemal said.

The kitchen at the old Crusty's became Kemal's pizza prep kitchen though he realised the whole space had the potential for a cafe.

"I was always getting my coffees in the CBD, always. So I thought, let's do something here. East Lismore has a big enough demographic that we could have it here so I thought - I'm going to do that - so I just started chipping away at it" Kemal explained.

The project gathered momentum whilst Kemal and Amy were still running the pizza business and managing their 4 kids.

"People just go mate – you're mad – and I go I know but I like it. It's like Bali traffic, it's chaos but it works," Kemal says with a laugh.

Kemal and his friendly staff are happy to be contributing to a growing hub in East Lismore and are proud to offer a menu of all local produce.

"All our bread is from Henry's, coffee is from Moonshine at Bilinudgel, PJ's fruit and veg, pies from the Piecart, all local, that's what we wanted to do...why get it anywhere else when it's all in your backyard..".

Apart from the electricals, Kemal refurbished the cafe space entirely himself from construction through to decor.

"It's basically all the stuff that I've been collecting over the years, I love the old vintage feel. I wanted to make the space moody and homely so when you come in there's a sense of warmth," he said.

"The amount of love we're getting – it's awesome."

You can share the love with Kemal and his team at East Side from 7 – 2 Monday to Friday for a takeaway.