My restaurant 71 Indian Cuisine in Poulton was devastated by fire but we will definitely be back
A restaurant boss whose business was wrecked by a major blaze last year has vowed to reopen as soon as possible.
Kaz Ahmed says the incident at popular eatery the 71 Indian Cuisine restaurant on Breck Road, Poulton was devastating.
The building was ravaged by flames on December 8 and the restaurant remains boarded up and hasn’t reopened since.
Things could have been far worse as a family of seven was asleep upstairs when the blaze took hold after 4am.
Fortunately they were rescued by three members of staff at The Cube, a bar on the other side of Breck Road, who smashed down the door and led the occupants to safety.
Firefighters then arrived to tackle the blaze and extinguished the flames.
A 36 year old man, Fakhrul Islam, 36, of Hemingway, Blackpool has since pleaded guilty to arson in relation to the incident.
Restaurant owner Kaz Ahmed , also3 6, said: “It was a huge shock when I heard about it, not only the business going on fire but the people upstairs - they were members of staff and their family.
“It was so lucky for them that the men at The Cube saw the flames and rescued them.”
He added:”We are planning to reopen at the same place, , with the same owner and the same menu.
“It was very popular and things were going so well.
“i am hoping that we will be at the end of the year, it just depends on the insurance and that is what we are waiting for. But we will definitely be back.”
The 71 Indian Cuisine succeeded a previous restaurant on the site, the Lemon Tree, which closed three years ago.
It is understood that Mr Islam previously ran the Lemon Tree restaurant.
He is due to appear for sentencing at Preston Crown court on July 24 after pleading at an earlier hearing on April 15.