Bexhill cafe set to reopen seven months after fire

A much-loved family cafe in Bexhill is set to reopen on Sunday (October 30), more than seven months after a devastating fire.
By The Newsroom
Published 28th Oct 2016, 16:29 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 20:37 BST

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Caffe Martini after the fire in March. Photo by Danielle Martinaj SUS-161028-144700001Caffe Martini after the fire in March. Photo by Danielle Martinaj SUS-161028-144700001
Caffe Martini after the fire in March. Photo by Danielle Martinaj SUS-161028-144700001

Caffe Martini owners Danielle and Nino Martinaj have worked tirelessly to get it back up and running after the blaze in the early hours of March 12.

The Terminus Road cafe’s interior was completely destroyed and everything has been ripped out and refurbished.

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Danielle said it has been a long time coming but she is excited to welcome people back to the cafe.

The kitchen was completely destroyed. Photo by Danielle MartinajThe kitchen was completely destroyed. Photo by Danielle Martinaj
The kitchen was completely destroyed. Photo by Danielle Martinaj

“It’s been hard, the insurance company took a long time to sort things out and we have had so much to do but it feels amazing to be so close to reopening,” she said.

“It’s been completely refurbished as internally it was really badly damaged, more than we first realised.

“But it’s looking good, we’ve changed the menu and we had a blank canvas so we’ve made it how we wanted it to be.”

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Caffe Martini’s kitchen was totally destroyed by the electrical fire at around 12.30am, which they were alerted to by a neighbour.

Danielle said it has taken so long waiting for the insurance company to process their claim and the refurbishment took longer than expected.

But they have had so much backing from the community and she hopes the cafe will be even better than before.

“We’ve had so much support from the people in Bexhill with people in town asking when we’re opening which has been great,” she said.

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“I’m confident it’s going to be even better than it was before, we just want to get it off the ground now.”

The pair are holding a drinks party at the cafe to celebrate the reopening from 7pm to 8.30pm tomorrow night (Saturday, October 29), which everyone is welcome to.

The cafe will officially reopen from 8am on Sunday.

Bexhill cafe owners heartbroken after devastating fire

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