By Torika Tokalau of Local Democracy Reporting
A rural South Auckland town is reeling from a fire that caused severe damage to three businesses, almost a year after another fire damaged a popular restaurant a few metres away.
Dozens of firefighters attended a fire at Kings Polynesian Island Food & Cafe in Pukekohe at 12.09am on Tuesday, completely destroying it, and causing severe damage to furniture store, Dapper & Co, and Halliwell Shoes.
The cafe had just opened a few months ago in May.
The fire on Pukekohe’s King St was the second major fire in the town centre – the Monarch restaurant was severely damaged last September.
Franklin Local Board chair Angela Fulljames said it’s always heart-wrenching when business owners see their livelihoods impacted.
“We can’t imagine what it must be like to see a business you have put your blood, sweat and tears into, be destroyed,” Fulljames said.
“But our people are resilient and we are confident they will bounce back.”
She said last year’s fire at the Monarch, on the historic historic Perkins building, was devastating to the community.
“Like the recent fire, no one was injured, and we can only be grateful for that.”
Pukekohe Business Association manager Shawna Coleman said they were deeply saddened by the fire on Tuesday, “affecting several long-standing businesses in our community”.
“During these already challenging economic times, this tragedy is particularly heartbreaking,” Coleman said.
“There has been an outpouring of support from our local Pukekohe business community, demonstrating the strong support network they have with one another.”
She said the business association would continue to support those affected, and reminded the community that supporting local businesses was now more crucial than ever.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
In social media posts, Dapper & Co and Halliwell Shoes said they would close their shops temporarily until further notice.
The furniture store closed online orders until they assessed the extent of damage to their stock.
“Our thoughts are with King’s Polynesian Food & Cafe, who not long brought their beautiful food to Pukekohe and finished their renovations,” Dapper & Co posted.
