Prospect blaze destroys family run business Ishtar Middle Eastern Food ahead of Mother’s Day trading

A fierce blaze has caused $5 million in damages to four Prospect businesses, but one owner has promised to be back up and running despite the setback.

• Fierce fire tears through restaurants

A fierce blaze causing $5 million in damages has destroyed a family run Middle Eastern restaurant in Adelaide’s inner north, just months after its owner, Iman Kedda, realised her dream of opening her own business.

Ishtar Middle Eastern Food restaurant was one of several Prospect businesses forced to close by a fire on Saturday ahead of Mother’s Day trading.

But despite the tragedy, the family is optimistic they will be able to re-open soon.

Firefighters arrived at the block of shops on Prospect Rd at around 3.30pm to black smoke billowing from the site.

They were able to extinguish the blaze within an hour but four buildings were damaged in the blaze, which spread from an Indian restaurant to neighbouring Vietnamese, Mexican and Middle Eastern eateries.

A Metropolitan Fire Service spokesperson told the Advertiser that the cause of the fire was currently undetermined and required further investigation.

The spokesperson said the estimated damage costs were $4-5 million, with the four businesses suffering “significant fire damage”.

Ms Kedda and her daughter Nour Alakkad were serving a customer when a neighbour ran into their shop and alerted them of the unfolding emergency.

Ishtar Middle Eastern Food restaurant owners Alakkad and Iman Kedda were serving a customer when they were alerted of the neighbouring fire. Picture: Natalie Vikhrov

“Everything fell apart in 10 minutes really. It went from slight smoke to a lot of dark smoke and then you see flames coming out of the roof,” Ms Alakkad said.

The restaurant only opened at the Prospect site in December – growing from a catering venture to brick and mortar venue.

Owner Iman Kedda said she worked hard to build her “dream”.

“I have a dream to own my own business,” she said.

“ I was happy because I had many customers … they’re happy with my food.

Ms Alakkad, who quit her job to help her mother run the restaurant, said they were yet to see the inside of the business and didn’t know the extent of the damage – but were hopeful they would be able to reopen shortly.

The kitchen and ceiling suffered the most damage in the fire. Picture: Matt Loxton

Despite the tragedy, the family is optimistic they will be able to re-open the restaurant soon. Picture: Matt Loxton

“The ceiling has collapsed on both the properties next to us,” she said.

“Our dining room, it looks like there’s not much (damage) but the kitchen definitely suffered quite a bit but that’s from seeing outside.”

Ms Alakkad said they had several tables booked in for Mother’s Day but would now be closed for the occasion.

She thanked their customers and community for their support and urged them to monitor social media for their reopening.

“Keep an eye out (for) when we open and please come and say hello,” she said.

Originally published as Prospect blaze destroys family run business Ishtar Middle Eastern Food ahead of Mother’s Day trading