Dairy-owner Raj Patel and his family will return to their Masterton residence on Friday after fire six months ago sent them fleeing the home.
Mr Patel is also now set to reopen the doors of his adjoining Roberts Road Dairy business, which was also extensively damaged in an early evening blaze
in May.
The fire, which was blamed on an electrical fault, capped a string of misfortunes over past years that included the women last year enduring the second of two armed robberies in three weeks, and a robbery at the shop the preceding year involving four offenders.
Looters repeatedly raided the shop a week after the fire and escaped with thousands of dollars worth of tobacco products and sweets.
Mr Patel, who also owns the Hospital Food Market in Te Ore Ore Road, said he is more than happy to be reopening the doors of his shop after so long away but is happier still to be moving back into the refurbished adjoining home with his parents Subhash and Chandan Patel, wife Kini, and new-born daughter Hiya.
"There was four of us who were forced to leave and now five of us will be returning."
Over the next three days the family and friends will be working full-time to refit the shop with plant and stock, he said, and make the refurbished house a home once again.
"It's a big job
Mr Patel said the premises are now fitted with smoke alarms and the doors of his shop are set to open at 7am on Friday morning.
He said the shop will be open from 7am to 7pm daily, which is a curtailing of hours "out of caution because of the robberies" and the location of the business on a quiet residential road.
"There's still a lot of work to do but I'm really looking forward to moving back in especially with Hiya and reopening the shop as soon as I can."
