A lot of business are making changes in Lismore at the moment, and the iconic Pie Cart that lives on the corner of Molesworth and Magellan, and has fed so many of us, has joined these ranks .

 Sharon Restall and her mum, Kim, have given it a good slice of their lives, and have now sold it onto Mel Bowman and partner Ben Effer.

Mel has been looking at a hospitality business, and settled on the Pie Cart, “ I've always loved hospitality. I had a stint where I was going to buy a pub, and I ran it for three months. It was so much fun, and it was a lot better at it than I thought it would have been.

“I never thought I'd own a pie cart, but it's actually fun. I find foods creative. Ben likes it, too. It surprised him how much he's really enjoyed working with the recipes. The aim will be, one day, that we will both be in there working, as Sharon and Kim did.”

However, for now, they will keep their day jobs and manage the cart from a distance.

Sharon reflects on her time at the Pie Cart fondly, “It's been excellent. It's been really, really good. But I think everyone in business in Lismore over the last probably three to four years, we'll say it got pretty rough for a while there, and that, I guess, is what ultimately just wore me out. 

“I loved my time here. I love Lismore. I love the people, but I need to focus on the three little people that live at my house.”

Kim is stepping into retirement, and Sharon is taking a break to concentrate on the family and refresh before heading in another business direction.

Sharon and Mel have known each other for over 15 years, so it seems like they are passing the baton to extended family.

Over the last week, Sharon has helped Mel step into the new business. There are aspects of the pies that wont see Kim too far away from the action. The meat is sourced from the Dalley St Butchery that Sharon’s husband, Brett, owns.

Mel confirms the meat supply will not change, “There will be very few changes.”

Kim sourced a lot of ingredients locally, and Mel is content to keep things running the same way., “Same suppliers, same recipes, no changes.”

Mel won't be hands-on at the cart at this point but works next door, so will be around.

The iconic nature of the Pie Cart gives it allure. Mel said, “You walk past here every day, and you think, that truck is awesome. I do. It is pretty cool. I must admit, I like old cars with character.

“Sharon and I were here the other morning, and a guy came up, and he goes, Oh, it's an Austin.”

He owned an Austin but a car and was insistent on coming back with a photo of it to share it with Mel. He was visiting from Newcastle and loved the experience.

Sharon said, “People come up and ask questions about it all the time.” She did up a history on the Pie Cart, and some of it will be included below.  

Sharon confirms it still starts, but since the 2017 floods, they started to get it towed out with a tractor by Sharon’s dad. Mel says that plan will stay, too, but they will look at getting a bigger ute so they can be fully prepared.  

“We've got mechanics in our family, so they'll probably want to tinker with it. Ben likes to tinker with stuff like that.” And his plan is to do just that.

“But you can't actually take it away; people would freak out. He thought maybe if he ever needed to move that away to fix it, he could put something in place and say the old pie cart is getting repaired, “ I'll be back soon” kinda thing.”

All this is in the future for Mel and Ben. For now, they are adjusting to the new responsibilities of the business, so if you see them down there, give them a big hello.

Extracts from the history of the Lismore Pie Cart, written by Sharon Restall:

1947 to 1967, Jack & Rose Hamilton established and owned the pie cart. “After WW2, Jack was injured while building concrete silos, so needed to find less strenuous work.”

At one stage, they replaced the truck with its current Austin, and it would travel to Evans for holidays. Pies were sixpence (5 cents each), and a meal of pie, veggies & coffee was 2/6 or 25 cents.

 1967 to 1995, Kevin & Nita Lawrence ran the cart. “Kevin & Nita took over the Caravan Café in September of 1967. For the first 4 years until 1972, Nita worked in the café alongside Kevin’s mother, Verna – affectionately known as Loncie.

The Evans field trips were replaced with trips to the races and Lismore and Ballina

A Pie with veggies and a glass of juice was $1.60, and 2 pies were $2.40. Council charged around $8 per week in rent. At that time, the cart was still able to sell both cigarettes and lollies. 

1995 to 2000 (dates a little unsure) Ridgey Didge bought it and rebranded it. Work was done on the van, and the menu changed to include more pies and less meals.

Sometime after the 2001 flood until 2008, Greg Jeromson owned it for a time. During his time, a car crashed into it. Luckily, no one was hurt, but it had to close to clean up for a day.

2008 to 2014 Larry & Nardi Endres owned it.

2014 to 2024 Kim Baker & Sharon Restall ran it as a mother and Daughter team. The pies were made in a commercial kitchen, freeing up space in the van and allowing for a larger range. Approx 800 pies a day were being made around 2015.

2024 Mel Bowman and Ben Effer have taken ownership of the iconic Lismore Pie Cart.

If you're new to town, the iconic Lismore Pie Cart can be found on Magellan Street, near the Molesworth Street end. Welcome Mel and Ben as the new owners.