KEY POINTS:
Cubita owner John Daniel is a worried man; his cafe has been badly damaged by fire and his insurance company has no record of his policy.
Cubita and neighbouring Burger Fuel, on the corner of Wellington's Taranaki Street and Courtenay Place, suffered smoke and water damage after the fire broke out at 9.15am. A car and a scooter parked in the building's garage were destroyed.
Mr Daniel told NZPA he was one of three people there when the fire started. He believed the fire started in ducting to the building.
Mr Daniel's cafe had been open only since June 1 and featured murals of Cuba.
"The cafe is small but with the paintings - it was basically the streets of Cuba, and that makes the cafe look big," he said.
"We have so many people who just come in to take pictures of the place. It was painted on the wall itself."
The damage was heartbreaking but insurance was of more immediate concern; Mr Daniel's insurance company had no record of his policy, and his accountant had told him no payments had been made.
"You've got some people who you rely on and when bad things happen you find out what went wrong," he said.
"For now I'm in a state of fear."
Wellington city fire service Station Officer Peter Burtonwood said Cubita and Burger Fuel sustained smoke and water damage, and some partition walls were damaged. However, there was no structural damage.
How quickly the restaurants reopened depended on how soon the owners could clean up the mess.
The cause of the blaze was being investigated but, whatever it was, Mr Burtonwood said a sprinkler system would have limited the damage. It would not have been a requirement when the building was built.
Eleven appliances attended at the peak of the blaze, which attracted about 200 onlookers.
One appliance remained at the scene early this afternoon.
- NZPA
