Dave Drummond will shift his focus from cooking to the day-to-day running of the business.

READ MORE:

He takes over from Jean Glover who is staying on to help in a mentor role after running the cafe for 19 years.

"It's a prime position in town and I really liked the ethos that Jean and her sister Di have in regards to food," Mr Drummond said.

"They cook everything fresh and I want to make sure we do as much as we can in-house, rather than buying food in.

"I won't be cooking specifically, I'll do a bit of everything and will be at the front of house so I'm visible to our customers.

"I want them to know who I am and they'll see that I'm very hands on.

"There are a lot of new people moving to town and I feel this is the right time to elevate a cafe."

Drummond has worked in town at the bowling club and Inverell RSM Club.

In recent years he has shifted his focus to restoring prominent houses around northern NSW and southern Queensland under the Country House Restorations banner.

The plan will be to upgrade and update the design of the café over the next 12 months and start with a new menu next month.

"I threw it all in a few years to work in design and renovations; that's been my main source of income," Mr Drummond said.

"I want to work with the character of the building and make it more of a Parisian style cafe.

"There will be more pastries and croissants; slices, pies and different foods made in-house to elevate it a bit more.

"I'm thinking leather lounges inside with umbrella's out the front, too.

"It won't all happen overnight but I definitely want to upgrade the inside of the building.

"I'm very aware of who the regular customers are and I'll be making sure we cater to them."

There will be new signage and a mural of the old bridge going up inside.

Drummond is also bringing a new brand of coffee from Allpress Espresso.

Make sure you are signed up for our breaking news and regular newsletters