"I can't go anywhere. I am struggling because I am supposed to be in Whanganui and sorting this out."
He said he has applied for exemptions five times hoping he would be granted permission to leave Auckland, all of which have been denied.
The timing of the fire couldn't have been much worse, just weeks after leaving lockdown.
"It is a disaster. We have so many bills to pay.
"We are struggling, but we still have to keep it going. I'm still paying rent for the old building, we are just trying our best to continue and in a few weeks we will be back."
Four full-time staff will be working over the next four weeks, with casual staff to return when the sit-down restaurant is back up and running.
"Once we get back, Christmas time will be approaching and we will be getting busy."
He applauded the work of Spice Guru manager, Nav, for steering the ship while he is stuck in Auckland.
"I have a very good manager. She has handled everything. She has handled it so brilliantly it has made my life easy with all this tension in Auckland. She has done such a great job, I am so happy I have good staff.
"We can't wait to be back."
Spice Guru will be open seven days a week at 209 Victoria Ave from 5pm till late.
