The sign out the front still says Tommys, but the Molesworth Street venue is set to become a very different place, according to new owner John Elsey.

The former nightclub venue Tommys has been closed since January 2017 - and has been on the market for sale ever since. But now two brothers from Maitland have purchased the venue with plans to bring it back to life.

Read more business news: New cafe set to open on Molesworth Street

John said he and his brother “stumbled on it” for sale online, then came up from Newcastle to have a look through the building before deciding to buy it.

“We thought it was great so we jumped in,” John said. “We currently run four other venues in Newcastle and we were looking for a property for long time before we found this one.”

With plans to call the venue The Sherwood Hotel, John and his brother hope to bring craft beer and a family-friendly vibe to the venue, which will be open for lunch and dinner.

“We’d like to offer craft beer, cocktails, good food - and have no pokies or gambling or a nightclub,” he said.

“We have plans to create a family friendly courtyard out the back with plants and tables.”

When it comes to the food menu, John said they were considering either wood fired pizza or a smoke stack in the courtyard for smoking meats.

“We need to work out the space still,” he said. “We haven’t got the keys yet because we are still waiting for the 30 day exchange of sale to go through.

“We’ve applied for a liquor licence while we are waiting – so we still have a few hurdles to get through.

John said he hoped if all went well to have The Sherwood Hotel open by Christmas time.

“We’d like to open as quick as we can,” he said. “We’ve had a good response from people in Lismore so far. It’s been a rough year for Lismore – hopefully we are on the other side now.

The reopening of the venue could herald a revival of Lismore’s CBD, which has seen many shop fronts become unused since the 2017 floods.