Kitchen fire in West End restaurant shuts down busy intersection between Vulture St and Boundary St
Loyal customers including a former Queensland senator have reacted with dismay after a popular West End restaurant went up in flames, with the family owners, who have run it for 35 years, saying they have lost “everything”.
A family has “lost everything” after their popular West End restaurant went up in flames on Tuesday morning, with loyal customers being quick to share their dismay and offer support.
Just after 10am, emergency services were called to the restaurant on Vulture St after a fire broke out in the kitchen.
Omar El Masri told The Courier Mail his family owned King Ahiram Lebanese Cuisine for 35 years, and the shop itself had been a West End staple for more than six decades.
“We have lost everything,” Mr El Masri said.
“My dad owned it for 30-plus years, and he doesn’t know what happened. It all happened so quickly.”
After the fire gutted the interior of the shop, Mr El Masri said his family were determined to rebuild following the “tragedy”, but admitted they would need help to recover the funds.
“Everything we had was in that shop.”
Regular customers and fans of the Lebanese restaurant sent Mr El Masri and his family their well wishes.
“It’s honestly in my top 10 best places to eat in West End. I hope your dad is OK, and I’ll be there again for sure if you’re able to reopen,” one Facebook user wrote.
Another said that while they no longer lived in Brisbane, the restaurant was an “institution”.
One Twitter user said: “This is truly horrible. And absolute Institution that will be unbelievably sorely missed.”
Former Greens senator Andrew Bartlett shared his own dismay at the news, adding that the restaurant held a special place in his memories.
“Any place burning down is bad, but losing this place is terrible!” he said.
“It’s been there for so long – the place I bought my very first falafel kebab.”
The cause of the fire is unknown, however fire crews have contained it to the kitchen area.
Police shut Vulture St and Thomas St in both directions for close to three hours as crews checked the surrounding area, but they have since been reopened.
Any place burning down is bad, but losing this place is terrible! It’s been there for so long - the place I bought my very first falafel kebab. (& still great value to this day) https://t.co/ss7WKvBTVv
— Andrew Bartlett (@AndrewBartlett) January 4, 2022
There were six fire trucks in attendance.
No one has been injured and paramedics are on standby to assist.
Meanwhile, police were asking motorists to avoid an area of Ann St in Fortitude Valley near the homemaker centre following localised flooding.
A section of Ann St between Commercial Rd and Longland St was impacted by water over the road. The cause of the localised flooding is understood to be due to a king tide, but it has since receded.
