Cafe hopes to reopen next month after fire repairs

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Cafe Anatolia in Gisborne will reopen following a fire last month.

The Turkish restaurant in Grey Street has been closed since July 7 when a fire started in its kitchen.

Cafe Anatolia accounts manager Umesh Vinay said the fire investigation had confirmed the fire was started because of an electrical fault in a freezer.

The business had called for tenders to have the building refitted and they hoped to reopen in about four weeks.

A positive side to the story was that on the morning of the fire, Cafe Anatolia Gisborne’s owner Yuksel Dindar was running past when Fire and Emergency NZ staff were about to break down the door.

“He was out for his morning run and was able to open the door with the key. So that saved our door anyway,” he said.

Another positive was that the fire got into part of the wall cavity and melted a plastic water pipe, which spilled water out into the kitchen and helped stop most of the fire, a firefighter said.

“When we arrived there was only a very small fire still burning.”

However, damage to the store’s kitchen area was extensive.

There are 12 Cafe Anatolia Turkish Restaurants in the North Island.