La Baracca Hotel will open this weekend, in the old Rous Hotel premises.

It will have a soft launch on Friday night to friends and people who helped with the flood recovery and rebuild, and then officially open Saturday night to the general public.

Previously, La Baracca rented their premises beside the cinema for 16 years. The cafe section of the new venue has been open for a couple of months, and now the bar area and function room adjoining will officially open.

Steve Kreig, La Baracca owner and Mayor of Lismore, showed the Lismore App around the new premises, and is bursting with enthusiasm to welcome everyone into the venue, a space which holds fond memories.

“The Rous was where I would come on a Saturday afternoon with my mates for a beer and a bet. We sponsored clubs like Marist Brothers who use the Rouse Hotel as their major sponsor. So I've been to so many functions and had so many good times here.”

So what’s new in the space?

For a start, it’s light and bright, the pokies have been removed, and there is a causal feel with lounges and it is open to the cafe area. Steve hopes that people will come for a drink, smell the charcoal steak cooking and roll on over for dinner. He wants it to be a family-friendly destination where people come to socialise and connect. There are plans down the track to build a playground area for the kids.

The function room has also opened, which will double as a live music venue with a baby grand piano, and it is already popular for Christmas party bookings.

La Baracca are trying to support local wherever and whenever possible. They have used local tradespeople, and recycled local resources in the renovation. The bricks for the bar come from a 100-year-old cottage that was demolished just down the road, the feature timbers are from deconstructed local bridges, and the Colourbond on the ceiling hails from Trinity College.

La Baracca have also chosen to serve local beer from Seven Mile Brewing, and local liquors such as Winding Road Distillery, and Bunker, which will be used for all mixers. They love their wines and will open with 60-70 wines, but hope to expand to 120, and also to offer up to 30 top-shelf whiskeys.

“For us, it's not about just coming to the pub and sitting there and drinking, it's about enjoying the experience - trying something that you've thought about but haven't gone out and bought. You can come here and try a Japanese whiskey for example.”

When asked about the challenges that have faced Steve and Julie Krieg in opening the Hotel, Steve talked about the difficulty of finding staff.

Following the flood many people have left the area and staff is harder to come by, but Steve is optimistic that as the town begins to thrive again with new businesses opening, people will return to the area. La Baracca was able to retain many of its permanent staff following the flood. They operated the coffee van, and other businesses in the hospitality industry in Casino and Ballina took on their chefs temporarily.

“We've literally borrowed every cent to do this,” Steve said, “but I have full confidence that this will not only get back to where it was, but could actually grow and be better than what it was pre-flood. I really do sympathise with people who are struggling with their homes and the buybacks, I understand and it's frustrating and slow and tedious. But there are also really strong signs of life in the city too. And my hope, and my wife's hope, is that by us investing virtually everything that we own in a business in the CBD, it might inspire other people to go ‘It is worth it.’”

At this stage, the hotel is open for dinners on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, with the cafe opening for breakfast 7 days a week and lunch 5 days. This will expand as staffing allows.