Cafe blaze: Owners consider replacement

A fire has gutted this building at Cornwall Park. Photo / Michal Petrus

Operators of an almost-built cafe gutted by a deliberately lit fire early on Sunday morning are considering temporary replacement options as an investigation into the blaze continues.

Emergency services were alerted to the blaze at the Cornwall Park Cafe in Auckland about 1.40am on Sunday.

The cafe was still under construction, and did not have electrics or fire alarms at the time.

Auckland fire risk management officer Russell Dickson said an investigation into the cause of the fire had been completed and the fire was found to have been deliberately started.

Reports of fireworks being let off in Cornwall Park on the night of the fire were not linked to the cafe blaze, Mr Dickson said.

A police investigation was ongoing.

Cornwall Park Trust Board director Michael Ayrton said the fire caused significant damage to the cafe, which had been due to open on November 7 after two years of planning and construction.

The trust board had spent nearly $1 million on the cafe, which it hoped would generate revenue this summer to help with park maintenance, he said.

"I understand our leasee Andrew Bell was in the process of interviewing people which is pretty unfortunate, but he hopes to be able to be able to utilise them elsewhere.

"I know he had a baker lined up and some summer staff but I'm not sure exactly where he got to with that."

News of the fire had attracted an outpouring of sympathy from the public, Mr Ayrton said.

"We obviously appreciate the support we've had from the public and friends of the park and we're working closely with police and the community to get things back up and running as quickly as possible.

"A lot of people were looking forward to enjoying the facility over the summer, along with ourselves."

The park received nearly four million visitors a year, with a spike in numbers during the summer months, he said.

"It's just really unfortunate that it's going to be some time before we get some temporary facilities in place."

A food caravan and ice cream trailer would fill the void in the interim and the trust board had been considering opening a pop-up restaurant, he said.

It would take at least six months to rebuild the cafe, Mr Ayrton said.

In September, the board appointed Mr Bell to operate the new cafe, and the former Cornwall Park Restaurant, known as the Kiosk, which is closed for renovations.

Mr Bell referred enquiries back to Mr Ayrton.