Lismore's pub scene is the talk of the town, with the Northern Rivers Hotel, or the Northern as it has known, has been bought by Len and Julie Durheim.

Well-known local and son, Tony Durheim, told the Lismore App they have been talking to the owners for the past 12-14 months. It has been on and off the market in that time. A consortium of local business people was looking to buy the Rous and the Northern but pulled out with the Rous now owned by Steve and Julie Krieg.

The main concern about buying the pub is the uncertainty of the local North Lismore population created by the Resilient Homes Program and house buybacks. That uncertainty was too much for the consortium, but the Durheim's decided to take the risk.

As for the timing of when the doors will reopen, and the beer garden will be full of happy customers again? "Three to four months at least," Tony said, "But there's a lot of work to be done."

(The beer garden as it is today at the Northern)

This may be an understatement on a building that has been sitting closed up with rotting timber and flaking paint downstairs and the 15 rooms to let upstairs.

"The floor is rotten and being pulled out now. It was still wet when we opened the doors for the first time. We want to put an epoxy concrete floor down instead so we can hose it out when the next flood hits," Tony explained.

"We will redo the roof. We're talking about taking the tiles off and putting in new sarking, then pressure cleaning and a roof glaze. The windows are buggered, the wiring needs replacing, and it will need a massive paint job. There's mould and peeling paint everywhere."

The first parts of the Northern to reopen will be the bottle shop and the beer garden, as they will be the easiest to rebuild and the cash can start flowing while the rest of the building is completed.

Contracts were only exchanged on Wednesday, so it is early days for the rebuild journey, but Lismore will have a pub over the bridge in late 2023, but more likely early 2024. That will depend on trades and product availability.

"It will look a million bucks when we finish it," Tony exclaimed.