Lukoumades doughnut shop at Henley Beach gutted by fire
Neighbours are in shock after popular Henley Beach doughnut shop Lukoumades was completely gutted by a suspected arson attack.
SA News
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A popular doughnut shop at Henley Beach has been destroyed in what police believe is as an arson attack.
Lukoumades, on Seaview Rd, near Henley Square, went up in flames just after 2am this morning.
The fire engulfed the shop within minutes, gutting the interior and damaging an adjoining ice-cream store.
More than 40 firefighters battled the inferno using high pressure lines and breathing apparatus.
They managed to contain the blaze in about 15 minutes and extinguish it in a further 10 minutes, stopping it from spreading to other nearby shops.
The incident caused about $300,000 damage.
Police say the fire is suspicious and are investigating.
Neighbours say they are shocked that such a crime has occurred in the usually quite neighbourhood.
Milad Nahravani woke to discover the shop on fire.
“It was breaking the glass ... it was full blasts going through, blowing up some of the fuse boxes. It was pretty horrific,” he said.
Mr Nahravani said it was “worrying” that someone had deliberately set the shop on fire.
“It’s putting people’s lives in danger and there’s families and kids living around here as well,” he said.
“It’s a communal area where people come and gather. It’s (not) acceptable and I hope (police) catch them.”
Mina Sadeghi, who captured footage of the fire as it took hold, agreed.
“It’s horrible because we are living here (nearby),” she said.
“I cannot believe it that something happened like this.”
Another local, Grace Monaco, has taken her granddaughter to Lukoumades several times.
“I’m shocked and sad because it’s a beautiful shop,” she said.
The building’s owner John, who declined to give his last name, described the incident as a “tragedy” for the owners of both the doughnut and ice-cream shops.
“It’s a terrible shame,” he said.
John said his main focus was to get the ice-cream shop up and running as soon as possible.
He said the building was insured.
Loukoumades are a Greek version of a doughnut, made in bite-sized balls, and are fluffy and fried until golden brown.
They are traditionally soaked in honey and sprinkled with cinnamon. Some are garnished with chopped nuts or toasted sesame seeds.
The doughnut balls are sold at the franchise with a variety of toppings including ice cream and chocolate sauce.
There are three stores in South Australia, located on King William Rd at Hyde Park, Magill Rd at Kensington Park and Seaview Rd at Henley Beach.
The King William Rd store was the first of the franchise to open, in December 2017 The Henley Beach shop was the second and opened in October 2018.