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Cafe 'adapts' after arson attack destroyed kitchen

Alex Pope
BBC News, Bedfordshire
Reporting fromBedford
The Longholme A large group of people outside The Longholme in Bedford, three are kneeling down, the rest are standing up, all wearing blue tops. All looking at the camera and smiling. The Longholme
The Longholme called its staff "superstars" for getting the business up and running again

Staff at a riverside cafe which was damaged after an arson attack had to "adapt and improvise" to get the business up and running again.

Thomas Healey, from The Longholme, on Bedford's Embankment, said its food production areas were left full of "toxic smoke" after the fire in the early hours of Wednesday 18 June.

All food and consumables had to be thrown away, but by Saturday, it was serving again with generator power, a coffee trailer and a pop-up kitchen.

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue confirmed its crews were called to the scene and the "cause of the fire was deliberate".

Alex Pope/BBC Three people serving food from a mobile food van. A woman is by a glass case, a man has his back to the camera and another man is looking down. They are all wearing blue T-shirts. There is a large coffee machine behind them. Alex Pope/BBC
The cafe was back in business for the Bedford Kite and Motoring Festival with a reduced menu, which meant revenue was down

The fire started in a bin and spread to the kitchen, which was "100% damaged", the fire service added.

It caused "a serious impact on our production areas, mainly due to toxic smoke damage that has compromised all of our stainless steel appliances and surfaces", Mr Healey said.

The area has been "completely stripped back to the bones to allow for a commercial deep clean, ahead of repairs and re-fitting".

"The damage would shock anyone because from the front, it all looks fine," he added.

It reopened in time for the town's Kite and Motoring Festival that took place on 21 and 22 June, but Mr Healey said a reduced menu impacted sales.

Alex Pope/BBC Six boats, on a lake, by a sign. There is a parasol to the right, with tables and chairs, also to the right. There are trees and bushes in the distance, and bushes at the front. Alex Pope/BBC
The Longholme also runs boat hires from the Longholme Lake, in front of its building

Mr Healey said: "We have managed to improvise a decent menu, and a pop-up kitchen using event equipment stored off location, the team have adapted with passion and a desire to put everything right again.

"We will be back on track ASAP."

Insurance companies for Bedford Borough Council, which owns the building, and the cafe are now dealing with the claim.

He said his step-father, Adrian Allen, "dropped tools on another personal project to jump in and get the cafe back on course, without this, we would be facing a much longer road to recovery".

The support from customers had been "simply fantastic" with hundreds of supportive comments on its social media pages, he added.

The fire occurred after the business recently spent £6,000 on "game-changing" flood defences due to its position near a lake.

Bedfordshire Police has been approached for comment.

Alex Pope/BBC A blue mobile coffee van, by a sign, with one woman in front of it, and people working inside it. Alex Pope/BBC
The Longholme placed a mobile coffee van in front of its building, where it served drinks and snacks

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