'Let's do it': Couple jump at the chance to open cafe

Jazz Bellmaine developed a passion for baking from her mum and grandma, so when the opportunity presented itself to take over Village People in Woodlark St, she and partner Reilly Fitzalan said, "let's do it".

"I thought it was a really good opportunity," Jazz said. "It was something that I had been passionate about for years - baking and food has run in my family. Mum was always baking.

"That's my inspiration. I've always grown up around it.

"My grandma was a big foodie, and her mum owned a cafe in Sydney when she was young."

It is the first business venture for the 26-year-old, and she said it was a difficult decision to open a business in the town given how badly the CBD flooded in 2022.

"A lot of people have said to me 'why would you ever buy a business in Lismore'. But we live in this community, and we want to see it shine again," Jazz said.

Reilly has been involved in music and the arts in Lismore for over a decade, and wanted to help the town rebuild.

"I love this community, so I just wanted to invest more in the culture. It's something I've always loved doing. So when the opportunity came up, I thought 'yeah, lets do it'," he said. "There's a risk, but what's life without a few risks, hey?"

That it will flood again was something they had to consider when they fit out the space. Everything is easily removed, and they have a flood plan in place. But they are optimistic.

"We always bounce back. We always do. It's always going to change a little bit. People are always going to move away. There's always hope."

Jazz said they don't have insurance due to the cost, and welcomed an insurance scheme for floods, like the government backed cyclone pool in Queensland.

"We need all the help we can get. We need a bit of security and support. It is a big outlay. You're putting in all this money, and time, and energy, and it could just be ripped out from underneath you."

But they've had little time to worry. The benefit of setting up shop in your hometown is that you know a lot of people, and they've been turning out in droves to support the couple's new venture.