The Empire Tavern at Kurri Kurri has been given a new lease on life – one that is set to improve the lives of homeless women.
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The hotel, which ceased trading last year, now provides transitional accommodation for homeless single women as part of Marli Accommodation Services’ operations.
The organisation was established at in 2015 at the Currency Lass Hotel in Maitland, where it provides accommodation for homeless men and couples.
Its founder Liz Berger said while services such as Carrie’s Place help homeless women with children, she identified a gap in the market for single women without children, and elderly women.
The Kurri Kurri premises will not only provide a safe place for these women to stay – they will be able to gain work experience in the restaurant and coffee lounge.
Along with providing meals for the clients and opportunities for them to learn hospitality industry skills, the restaurant will be open to the public and the profits will go back into the service.
A cafe with the same ethos will also open at the Currency Lass soon.
Ms Berger said Marli Accommodation Services’ aims and objectives are to “house, feed, educate and employ homeless people”.
“We have a different philosophy as to how you get people back on their feet – it’s not just a roof over their heads,” she said.
Clients must abide by the rules – no drugs, no alcohol, no aggression or violence and people must pay their rent.
The tavern is a registered boarding house – which means the clients can apply for Rentstart.
The women will be given support to help find a house in the community.
“It’s a two-stage transition program – it’s not just somewhere they come and live and be ignored,” Ms Berger said.
“They are also encouraged to eat together as a family.”
The restaurant will be open for continental breakfast, and lunch and dinner most days.
“People can also pay a meal forward, or a cup of coffee or cake, it’s a way of the community helping,” Ms Berger said.
Ms Berger said they also plan to open a health food/vegetarian restaurant at the Empire, and to hold regular community events including open mic nights, karaoke and cultural awareness events.
The restaurant and coffee lounge will be named ‘Murals’ in a nod to the long-running Kurri Kurri art project.
Ms Berger is looking for artists who would like to paint a mural inside the restaurant, in order to establish the theme, and to promote the artists’ work.
Any artists who are interested in helping can contact Liz Berger on 0402 096 267.
