FIRE has ravaged a popular Shepherd's Bush delicatessen and restaurant, leaving its owner distraught.
Flames took hold of Naama in Uxbridge Road just after midnight last Wednesday. Four fire engines and more than 20 fire fighters were needed to bring the blaze under control. A person living above the business, which was closed at the time the fire struck at about 11.17pm, escaped before the incident escalated.
Director Moussa Merhi said at least half the shop, which is a Lebanese butcher, deli and take-away, including much of the kitchen area, was badly damaged and expects to be closed for some time.
He said: "It has come at the worst possible time. Business is tough as it is and now we are going to have to shut for quite a long period I would think. There is quite major damage. The only good thing is that we were closed at the time and the people living above were not hurt."
Mr Merhi, who says he is baffled as to how the fire started, vowed to open again as quickly as possible. "It is a big set-back but hopefully we can start serving our customers again in no time."
A spokeswoman for the fire service said fire fighters from Acton, Hammersmith and Chiswick had the incident under control by about 12:40am.
She added the blaze damaged part of the shop’s kitchen and the ducting, used to extract smoke and fumes from cooking, from the ground floor to the third floor, was also damaged.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
