Owners of Prospect Rd restaurant Miss V speaks out after blaze destroys four restaurants

Seven restaurants in Adelaide have fallen victim to costly fires this year, but one owner says despite the run of bad luck they are not victims of “a curse”.

A fire ripped through the roof of Prospect Rd restaurants on Saturday. Picture: Matt Loxton

• Fire destroys family’s ‘dream’ restaurant

The future is uncertain for business owners Rosie Le and Billy Nguyen who were prepping for a busy Saturday afternoon in their Prospect Rd Vietnamese restaurant when a fierce blaze ripped through their block of shops.

The fire caused between $4 to $5 million in damages and also destroyed family business Ishtar Middle Eastern Food, as well as two other restaurants. The cause is still under investigation by MFS.

Restaurant Miss V had been a “big dream” come true for Ms Le and her husband, who had always shared a passion for Vietnamese cooking and wanted to start their own business.

Rosie Le and Billy Nguyen with their daughter at Miss V Vietnamese restaurant on Prospect Rd during happier times. Picture: Supplied

Ms Le was forced to watch her restaurant burn down on Saturday. Picture: Rosie Le

But as Ms Le stood outside the restaurant she’d been running for the past three years, shaking as flames and plumes of black smoke leapt from its roof, she “just didn’t know what to do”.

“My husband ran out and there was lots of black smoke on the roof,” she said.

“He ran back into the store and told me to get out so I grabbed my phone and just left everything behind.

“We had to stand and watch everything we built get destroyed in front of us.”

Fire damage at Ishtar restaurant in Prospect. Picture: Matt Loxton

It was a similar story for Ishtar Middle Eastern Food, when a neighbour told owner Iman Kedda and her daughter Nour Alakkad about the unfolding emergency.

The two shops, along with a Mexican, and Indian restaurant, were damaged in the blaze, but were not the first Prospect Rd businesses to be claimed by flames this year.

An arson attack set the Saeid barber shop alight in February, with police still investigating the incident and no one arrested or reported for the fire.

Popular Adelaide CBD restaurant, Fugazzi, has been forced to turn diners away after a kitchen fire. Picture: 7News

Prospect Rd has a history of restaurant fires, popular restaurant Rosemont Hall needing to be completely demolished and rebuilt after a fire in 2021.

While the business was able to rebuild its brick and mortar storefront, the same could not be said for Creperie & Co, which has remained closed since a 2022 fire.

In Adelaide, it has been a difficult year for the hospitality industry with three fires taking hold at CBD restaurants last month, in addition to the most recent Prospect blaze.

High-end Italian restaurant Fugazzi Bar and Dining Room on Leigh St was forced to close before a busy Saturday dinner service during the AFL Gather Round when a kitchen fire started, leaving $200k in damages.

Only three days later Paper Tiger on Rundle St caught alight. Another three days later, Brazilian restaurant B’Churrasco on East Tce also had a kitchen fire, forcing it to close.

Ms Le said the reason behind all the fires was “not a curse” but “people just being irresponsible”.

Originally published as Owners of Prospect Rd restaurant Miss V speaks out after blaze destroys four restaurants