Spotted Pig reinvents itself in the heart

The Spotted Pig has run as a restaurant in Alphadale, a wine bar in Eggins Lane, and now, it's morphed into a deli on Woodlark St.

Iohne Simpson owner of Spotted Pig said the flood forced them to make some changes to the way they'd done things in the past, but they were excited to be back.

The Spotted Pig operated as a restaurant at the church on the Bruxner Hwy Alphadale for six years before Iohne and wife Emily Gray relocated and relaunched the business as a wine bar in Eggins Lane.

Running the business during the pandemic was something they had to do to survive, Iohne said. But they were dealt a devastating blow when everything was written off in the 2022 flood.

By that stage, Emily decided on a career change, and is now an apprentice electrician. So without her business partner onsite, Iohne had to rethink what kind of business to reopen.

As well as coffee and cake, the new Spotted Pig offers a range of deli goods they make themselves.

"I love making all of the jams and chutneys and pickles. We make all our terrines, we make pates. It's the food that I love doing and I wanted to turn that into something I could run myself," Iohne said.

The decision to come back to the CBD "wasn't difficult", but Iohne was keen to gauge the confidence in the town before committing more funds to a business in the city.

"I was just waiting to see what the plan was as far as the CBD went. There's been a lot of indecision moving forward about what's going to happen with the CBD."

Iohne was working at Harvest in Newrybar, but living in Lismore Heights meant they were able to "watch it come to life again". And decided the time was right to reopen in Woodlark St.

"It was interesting to see it coming to life again. You want to know that it's moving forward in the right direction, and I definitely think it is. The atmosphere and the vibe - it's really good at the moment.

"I love working for myself. I've done it for quite some time now. It looked like it was a good time to reinvest."

The Spotted Pig opened between Christmas and New Year, and Iohne said while it was a slow time of the year to open, it has allowed time for the business to get on it's feet and grow.

But things weren't slow for long, as word spread that the business was back.

"It's been fantastic. We're overwhelmed by the support. It's just so heartwarming."