Police investigating a fire at a kosher cafe and catering business in Bondi on Sunday morning say there is nothing to suggest it was a “targeted attack”.
Emergency services were called to Lewis’ Continental Kitchen on Curlewis Street just after 4am to reports of a fire.
“The fire was extinguished a short time later,” Inspector Ellen Jackson told reporters on Sunday afternoon. “No person was injured, and a crime scene was established.”
A detective leave Lewis’ Continental Kitchen with a jerrycan on Sunday afternoon. Credit: OnScene Bondi
Asked specifically if antisemitism was a line of enquiry being pursued by investigators, Jackson said: “There’s nothing to suggest that this premise was targeted.”
“We have nothing to suggest that this is a targeted incident and I would like to stress that there should be no community concern,” she said. “We have no information to suggest there is any ongoing threat to the public.”
Vision from the crime scene on Sunday showed a detective seizing what looked like a red jerrycan.
Asked if fuel from the can was used to light the fire, Jackson said: “There are a number of items seized from the location which will be forensically tested.”
Police initially said the fire was not suspicious, but on Sunday afternoon backtracked and were appealing for information and footage from the public.
The business remained a crime scene on Sunday afternoonCredit: Flavio Brancaleone
“This is an evolving matter,” Jackson said.
“We’ve spoken to a number of people … and that has given us reason to make this appeal for any public assistance.”
Jackson would not confirm if witnesses had claimed to see a person leaving the scene in the early hours of Sunday morning or if the fire was one of a spate in the area.
The business began in the 1940s by Israeli immigrant Harry Gilovitz and his wife Faye as a catering business. It expanded into a retail shop in its current spot on Curlewis Street in the 1970s, and is still run by their descendants.
“The legacy of Harry, Faye, and Malcolm lives on through Lewis’ Continental Kitchen. The commitment to quality, innovative cuisine, and warm hospitality remains at the heart of the business, welcoming customers just as Harry and Faye had envisioned,” says the Lewis’ Continental Kitchen website.
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