Verdi Cafe fire damage forced Verdi's in Mumbles to close after flames broke out in the early hours of Thursday morning. The Hole family said the cafe was devastated, and Ryan Hole said the family would work to reopen it as soon as possible.
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue was called shortly after 2am on Thursday and sent multiple crews to the blaze. Ryan said he received a call saying the cafe had gone up in flames overnight, then added: "We are not sure of the extent of the damage at the moment, so we don't know what that timeline will look like."
Ryan Hole at Verdi's
The family said the fire hit in the middle of Verdi's busiest season, which left the cafe shut on Thursday morning. Ryan said the plan was to get Verdi's "open and back to its brilliant best as soon as possible," but the repair schedule was still unclear because the full damage had not been assessed.
The fire service said the blaze was contained to the kitchen and toilet area. Even so, the main seating area suffered smoke and water damage, and areas of the roof were also damaged. That means the closure is about more than one room: the cafe will need checks, repairs and a full reopening decision before customers can return.
Elaine Conners in Mumbles
Regular customers found the doors shut on Thursday morning after arriving for coffee and ice cream. Elaine Conners, who comes from Killay with Bernard Conners, said: "We come almost every other day at least. We’re very disappointed today, and it looks like it’s going to take a while to repair. I don’t know where we’ll go instead, we love it there. It’s very sad."
Bernard said they loved Verdi's and did not know where they would go instead. Angela Lang, who comes once a week from Swansea, said: "It’s really sad, normally it is very busy here. I imagine it will take a while to get it back up and running. We come once a week, because we love it down here. It’s very sad."
The cause of the fire was not yet known. For regulars, the immediate issue is simpler: Verdi's will stay closed while the family works through the damage and decides how long repairs will take.
