Franc Jrs in Coolangatta closed until further notice after fire ripped through pizzeria
One of the Gold Coast’s most popular pizzerias has been burnt to a crisp after a fire ripped through the store, leaving a path of devastation.
Gold Coast
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One of the Gold Coast’s most popular pizzerias has been burnt to a crisp after a fire ripped through the store.
The inside of Coolangatta’s Franc Jrs was torn apart by a fire at 3.50am on Monday after reports of smoke billowing from the popular restaurant on Griffith St.
Emergency services, including police and fire crews, rushed to the scene and found a fire inside the building.
Fire crews were able to extinguish the blaze within 10 minutes, but unfortunately the damage had already been done.
Franc Jrs Pizzeria shared “heartbreaking” photos on Instagram which showed the walls painted black with ash and cabinets falling apart.
“Hey y’all. We had a little fire in the Coolangatta shop Monday morning,” the post said.
“The good news is everyone is safe, the bad news is we will be out of action for a while in Coolangatta.
“Obviously at this stage we don’t know for how long.
“We will keep you in the loop don’t worry. Thanks for all the support and we will see you back in there soon enough.”
Locals were “devastated” by the news and offered their hand to help during the rebuild process, some even suggested holding a vigil.
A Gold Coast police spokesman confirmed the fire was deemed as not suspicious.
“No fu*king way,” Vincent Bobo said.
“My heart is broken. I send you all my energy to get back on track. Long live Francie’s.”
Since opening the walk-in only pizzeria in 2017, the store had become one of the most popular on the Gold Coast.
So popular, owners Anthony Pattinson, Claudia Pattinson, James Young and Carlos Lara opened their second venue in Nobby Beach last year.
In January last year Mr Pattinson said: “Wait times can get out of hand in Coolangatta.
“Sometimes you would arrive at 5.15pm and only 15 minutes after opening you would be number 63 on the list.
“While that’s fun and very flattering for us, it’s not sustainable.
“So the second shop was inevitable and what people deserved.”
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