‘It was such a difficult time’ – Longford restaurateur’s relief as doors open four months after devastating fire

Heidi Zhou's business, like over a dozen others, faced an anxious wait over the past four months in the wake of a fire that ripped through a three storey building along Longford town's Grafton Court on July 28.

In an exclusive interview with the Irish Independent, the Chinese entrepreneur told of her delight at the restaurant's long awaited re-opening over the weekend.

"People have been very nice and we have had lots of people come in and congratulate us," she said. "Everyone has been so nice. It is a new beginning and a new start."

An eye-catching display of red and white balloons lined the doors of the stylishly furnished Grafton Court premises as a steady stream of diners arrived to sample the delights of Longford's very first sushi restaurant.

Those images were ones Ms Zhou, by her own admission, struggled to reimagine as question marks surrounded the business' future sustainability as a viable enterprise.

Fast forward the best part of four months and while the local businesswoman is still unsure about whether the thousands she has personally had to fork out for will be covered by insurance, her focus is very much on making her new venture a success going forward.

"We had to do a lot of repairs both inside and outside," she said. "All of the fans outside were damaged and so was the gas piping. We had to take it all off and install all new equipment.

"I am not sure if the insurance will cover it or not because they (insurance company) are still processing it. We have had to pay for everything ourselves and it's in the thousands.

"We have been under so much pressure and all I have been doing is asking the landlord over and over: 'When is all the scaffolding going to come down and when can we reopen again?"

That question, allied to the unerring gratitude she harbours towards the restaurant's small, but dedicated staff who have stayed loyal to her, is one she hopes to put behind her over the days and weeks ahead.

"It was such a difficult time as I wasn't sure whether they (staff) would stay with me or not and they were really good to support me and to stay," added Ms Zhou.

"I am just really happy we are re-open again."