"I feel fantastic, now that we've finally got the doors open. Four months is a long time," those were the first words of Southside Hot Bread owner Steve Butcher at today's reopening of the popular bakery on Union Street.

The long four months has involved a nearly million-dollar rebuild after the premises was reduced to a shell following the catastrophic February 28 flood that blew the building apart, literally.

It wasn't so much the volume of water for Steve and his wife Karen, it was the speed of the current that flowed from the back of the building towards Union Street.

"It took this wall out (a wall that separates the kitchen and flour storage from the shop front), the whole front of the shop out including all the glass. There's 30 grand in new glass at the front of the shop."

The volume of water (above the white box in the photo below) also meant completely new electrical wiring throughout the premises including a new metre box, another $10,000 plus the removal of asbestos in the roof.

Steve thought about the rebuild, he thought about making it flood-ready for when the next event hits South Lismore.

"Structurally, it was fantastic still because it's all brick walls and steel RSA beams."

"When we saw the enormity of this we decided to go right up as high as we could into the ceiling to get out of harm's way. All the lower ceiling work has gone."

"We then started from the floor up, all the old tiles came off. We ground the concrete back, epoxied the floor, caved it all up, put villaboard sheeting on the walls, stainless steel sheeting over the top of the villaboard."

(Staff hard at work serving the consistent line of customers. Note the stainless steel walling at the rear)

"It's a huge cost but what we're trying to do is seal it off and any studs that are in the wall are all steel studs, there is no timber in the walls at all which can be affected by any water if it does happen to get in there."

The final piece in the rebuild puzzle will be to build a levee-type wall at the back of the property. Not to stop water from entering the building but to slow the speed of the water destroying the building.

As for the potential clean-out for the next flood, Steve said everything is on wheels and, thankfully, there has been a trend back to old-school baking.

"The baking cycle has taken a bit of a turn from a peel and wood-fired oven where everything was done on the stone to needing expensive equipment to make white and square breads. Everyone wants sourdough's now, back to what we were making 40 years ago."

"We've gone back to more modern machinery but everything is more hands-on now."

"Everything's on wheels so we just have to get everything out as you do in any flood."

"We're in a relatively high spot here in South Lismore, it's got be a big flood to even affect us. The 2017 flood was only two foot through our building. As we all know when it goes three metres above that level, that's just a volume of water that no one can handle. "

Karen Butcher said, "It's been an emotional rollercoaster" to get to this point.

Karen and Steve kept their business going by renting a space in Alstonville so they could produce product still but more importantly, keep employing their workers especially when 5 had lost their homes.

"Keeping these guys is really important to us, really important. The biggest thing is staff which is straight down the line everywhere. Staff is a big, big issue. You have to nurture the staff you've got. Some of our staff have been with us for 18 years so I've got to look after them. They're family to me."

(Karen Butcher working hard making coffees this morning)

Having the two locations now is stretching the staffing resources for Karen and Steve as they still need enough to run the Alstonville shop as well as the new shop in Union Street. Alstonville has a lease that runs until March 2023 and there is the possibility of extending that lease next year and running two bakeries. If you would like to work, contact Karen in the South Lismore shop.

Karen is looking to get Steven to take a break in the coming weeks and months ahead.

"Down here has been 100% Steve," Karen said, "while I've been looking after the other shop. It's now time for him to take a backseat and have some time off."

"I just hope the public appreciates the effort we put in and I hope our service is as good as what the building looks."

"It's been flat out since five (AM) and I said to the staff we'll do the best we can and we'll keep growing, every day we'll just get better and better."

"There's a hell of a lot more we intend to do here."

When asked what that is, Steve replied, "You'll have to wait and see."

For now, Southside Hot Bread is back open for business at 91 Union Street, South Lismore.

Union Street is another that is growing each day around the CBD with Affordable Beauty reopening, Compu-K Computers, the Post Office, The Garden Centre, Martial Arts and more on the way.

It makes for more positive news for Lismore.

If only the Union Street road could be fixed, Mayor Krieg?