Staff at an east London Vietnamese restaurant left “completely ruined” by a fire that started in the kitchen are in “shock and disbelief” as they set up a GoFundMe page.
Around 70 firefighters were called to BúnBúnBún on Kingsland Road in Hoxton shortly before 3am on Monday.
Ten people evacuated the building before London Fire Brigade arrived and there were no reported injuries.
But the blaze damaged part of the basement, the first floor and second floor, leaving the kitchen “completely burnt” and shop floor “completely ruined”.
Staff plan to get the gas up and running so they can serve food from smaller premises next door. They have set up a GoFundMe page hoping to receive public support to help pay for repairs.
“Our kitchen caught fire last night while a member of our staff was preparing for the following day,” Lucy Nguyen and Cay Dinh wrote.
“[We are] very fortunate nobody was hurt, however our kitchen is completely burnt and our shop floor is completely ruined.
“There is no way of us opening up anytime soon but we are trying our very best to sort things out.
“In the meantime we are trying to set up next door (134C Kingsland Road) to serve food as normal as we can.
“We have been open as a restaurant here for more than eight years now and everyone at BBB are all devastated with what has happened.
“We are all in shock and disbelief - no words can describe the extent of our sadness right now.”
The page has a funding goal of £50,000. BúnBúnBún is trading as normal from the Dalston site.
