Making the decision to close a family business that's been handed down for generations is not an easy one to make.

Caddies Coffee owner Jessica Ninness said she struggled with the idea, but in the end, she just couldn't afford to reopen the Carrington Street shop.

"This business had been in my family even before I was born," Jessica said. "It was my grandparents' business and a family institution.

"But it has come down to finances and now we can't afford repairs or the fit out of a new shop.

"Lismore won't recover for months and we cant afford to pay the rent while waiting for the area to regenerate."

But worst of all, Jessica has lost her bespoke hot coffee roaster and 20 tonnes of coffee beans.

It' a loss that's hard to take - because she had already moved the expensive machinery and beans to a shed on Habib Drive.

It was a location which had never previously gone under in a flood.

Flood plan thwarted

Jessica said she bought the business from Bill Sheaffe and Ros Irwin in July 2017, just after Lismore's last flood.

Based on that flood, she thought she had a future-proof flood plan and was quick to put it into action when the 2022 flood looked certain to arrive.

So, as well as moving the roaster, she also moved the rest of the stock upstairs to the shop's mezzanine floor - also above the1974 flood level.

"We walked out of the shop, confident we would be trading again within a week," she said.

But the water level got up to half a metre from the roof of the shop.

Worries for small business

Jessica said she is lucky she still has her unflooded home in Alstonville - but has worries for the many other small businesses in Lismore.

"They will really struggle - $50K from the government is great but it's not enough.

"Where do we draw the line and say the government can't take responsibility for it all?

"We are sad not to be opening the shop again. The community spirit here is amazing and after the last flood, people really pulled together.

"But this flood is on a whole different scale.

"We love this area and are definitely not leaving.

"I was born here and will stay and raise my family here."