The Vicarage Café serves up renewed spirit among the North Star community
The Vicarage Cafe in North Star, north western NSW is making the most of the value Inland Rail is bringing to the region.
February 8, 2022
When The Vicarage Café opened in 2021 in the heart of prime agricultural farming area known as the Golden Triangle, naturally it became the meeting point for the North Star community.
Lifelong friends and farmers, Simon Doolin and James Hardcastle, converted the Vicar’s former home into a cafe to give the town something it had been missing for so long.
“There was nowhere to run into our neighbours and have a quick catch up and a lot of people were staying at home due to the drought. We have so many people around, we had to find a way to draw them out,” Simon said.
The café offers a great vantage point to view Inland Rail construction and trains once they’re operating and has become a hotspot for Inland Rail staff and contractors.
“Gratefully they have started using our café for meetings and mixing in well with the local North Star community,” James said.
The North Star township is uniquely located in the middle of two Inland Rail projects, Narrabri to North Star and North Star to the QLD/ NSW Border.
James Hardcastle is already planning to open longer and employ more staff to keep up with demand as construction progresses and believes the project will help boost the town of North Star.
“Although we are only a small village, I hope that everyone can see that this rail project will bring value to our community in the coming years,” James said.
IMAGE: Simon Doolin (left) and James Hardcastle are drawing North Star locals and Inland Rail workers together at their cosy new café.
