The owner of a much-loved north Manchester café has spoken of her heartbreak after it was gutted by a fire.
The inferno ripped through Trisian’s Traditional Family Restaurant, in Harpurhey Shopping Centre, on Sunday afternoon (January 5). The café was shut when the blaze broke out shortly after 3pm.
Plumes of thick black smoke were seen billowing from the front of the café as fire crews tackled the flames. Owner Thuy Nguyen rushed to the scene after a worker at a nearby shop phoned her to tell her what had happened.
“The fire service were already outside,” she explained. “I tried to run to the shop but they stopped me and said it was too dangerous.”
After firefighters had doused the flames, Ms Nguyen was allowed to enter the café, where she encountered a scene of devastation. The kitchen has been left with extensive damage while a layer of soot covers the tables, chairs and floor of the café’s main seating area.
“I didn’t believe it would be this bad,” Ms Nguyen said. “I hoped it would just be something tiny but when I came in I was like ‘oh my God’.
The café was taped off following the blaze
(Image: Kenny Brown / Manchester Evening News)
“Everything in the kitchen is damaged. We have to get rid of everything.
“I don’t know where to start to sort this out. I’m feeling completely empty, I don’t know how to start again.
“I work six days a week. Sometimes, on a Sunday, even though it is closed, I work in the kitchen.”
Ms Nguyen, who took over the café in January of last year, believes the blaze the result of an electrical fault, which caused a fridge to catch fire. She has been unable to reopen the café and fears the cost of repairing the damage could be insurmountable.
The café’s kitchen was left badly damaged by the blaze
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
“We will try to reopen but it depends on the damage and the cost,” Ms Nguyen said. “If it costs too much then maybe we can’t.
“I have saved a lot to get this and it’s just gone after a year. People come in here because it’s a community. They come in to see each other, not because of the café.”
As a tearful Ms Nguyen pinned a notice to the café’s shutters this morning, loyal customers offered hugs and words of support. Regular Bernadette Flaherty, 77, said she had “tears in her eyes” after hearing what had happened.
A layer of soot covers the tables, chairs and floor inside the cafe
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I’ve been coming in here twice a week for years.
“There are so many people round here that come in. They have so many regulars, it’s unbelievable.
“Everybody knows everybody and talks to everybody. It’s the hub of the community.”
Harpurhey councillor Pat Karney said he had asked officers from Manchester council to meet with Ms Nguyen to “see how we can assist in getting this much-loved café open”.
“It’s a massive blow to Harpurhey,” he added.