Off The Track: Fire at new Havelock North site extinguished before major damage

The cause of the small fire at Off The Track restaurant's recently opened site is understood to be the same as that of the fire which destroyed the restaurant last year.

Just over a year after a fire destroyed its old site, Off The Track restaurant in Havelock North has had another fire at its new location weeks after reopening.

Firefighters responded with three trucks to reports of a fire at a commercial premises in Havelock North about 7.15pm on Monday.

They were on the scene for between 45 minutes to an hour.

Owners Chris Whyte and Fiona Le confirmed through social media no one was hurt, there was no major damage and the restaurant would be open as usual on Tuesday.

“Although nerve-racking, we are so happy that we had moved our laundry drying area outside and the situation was dealt with safely and as quickly as could be,” the post read.

Whyte and Le were devastated by a fire which caused significant damage weeks after purchasing the restaurant last year.

They officially opened their brand-new venue last month.

Owners Fiona Le and Chris Whyte pictured at the new Off The Track restaurant site last month. Photo / Paul Taylor

Le told Hawke’s Bay Today Monday’s fire was a small fire outside the main building and she understood it had the same cause as the fire last year- greasy tea towels combusting in the laundry.

“Because we know about this, we don’t bring the tea towels inside. We have a station outside the restaurant and do the laundry there,” Le said.

“The alarm system went off and we found out very quickly.”

In addition to moving the laundry outside, they had also been instructing staff on how to mitigate potential risks.

There had been some damage to an outdoor chiller, but they were sorting out a replacement.

She said the situation had been hard on her partner Whyte and herself because of the memories it brought back of the first fire.

“I feel really bad because people would think, ‘Oh, it has happened again’, but it was out of our control.”

James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on the environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. You can contact him at james.pocock@nzme.co.nz.