The Koori Kitchen will not be reopening after closing for three weeks over the Christmas/New Year holiday period.

The announcement was made on the Koori Kitchen Facebook page late yesterday evening.

It is with great sadness that the Koori Kitchen will not be reopening.

We were informed by Lismore Council over the break, that we need to commence packing down within the next few weeks.

The council have received a handful of complaints regarding the loss of parking due to our marquee. As the business community slowly starts to re-open and get back to normal, they believe parking for customers and workers is an important part of their recovery.

(The Koori Kitchen marquee covers the entrance to the Clyde Campbell carpark and takes up parking spaces.)

We feel extremely sad that we will be no longer able to support the Lismore community as we know there are still many displaced people who require this kind of essential service.

The Lismore community gave a great show of love and respect to the Koori Kitchen for the incredible service they provided that began shortly after the February 28 natural disaster helping feed those in desperate need.

With out the amazing work you guys did, Lismore & surround would of been stuffed.. THANK YOU!!

Thank you for being there for the community. We had many meals from you when we first moved home and had no functioning kitchen. Much appreciated. 

You guys have done an amazing job but I agree that it's time that you move on. Finding a new site and changing the format might help as well.

The question some community members have is do we have the same need for the service now as we did in 2022?

Lismore City Council (LCC) has decided that we do not and the need for dual access from Molesworth Street as well as the extra car parking spaces are more of a priority as we kick off 2023.

LCC General Manager John Walker said, "The Koori Kitchen in the Clyde Campbell carpark has played an important role in helping our community recover from the February natural disaster.

"However, almost 12 months on since the disaster many of our CBD businesses have reopened with even more planning to reopen in the coming months. This means there is now great demand for parking to assist these businesses to recover.

"To this end, Council has been working with the Koori Mail to determine what services are still needed, and if and how they can be provided from another location that does not take up crucial parking spaces."

As the debate continues about the timing of the closure, the Lismore App wants to acknowledge the wonderful, selfless service the Koori Kitchen provided at a time when people were at their most vulnerable. Thank you to the organisers and the many chefs and cooks from restaurants and cafes throughout the LGA that gave their time to create the thousands of meals needed each day, many while cleaning up their own businesses to reopen.