PAARL – Despite watching his restaurant go up in flames, Stelios Coutsides says he feels immensely grateful for the outpouring of support since the incident.
Coutsides is the owner of the well-known Cucina Di Giovanni restaurant that is situated on the property of the Laborie Estate in Paarl. On Saturday (20 December) shortly after midday a fire broke out destroying the restaurant and the first wing of the accommodation facilities, said the Drakenstein Municipality in a statement.
“Everybody asks me [how I feel after what happened]. I don’t even know – what do I answer? Honestly there are no words. You can’t describe how you feel when you’re watching something that you’ve built up since 2017 and it goes up in flames in front of you. The support of the Paarl people has just been phenomenal. Everybody is just reaching out and wants me to bounce back. It is tough and then there’s also the staff. I mean what do you do with the staff, because the restaurant could take months to restore it,” says Coutsides.
Municipal firefighters with the support of firefighters from Stellenbosch Municipality, Cape Winelands District Municipality (CWDM), the Fire Protection Association (FPA) and Drakenstein Farm Watch (DFW) Fire & Rescue NPC worked together to contain the flames.
“FPA-deployed helicopters assisted ground crews with aerial water drops during the containment phase,” the statement continues.
An investigation is still underway to determine the cause of the fire.
In the meantime, the staff of Cucina Di Giovanni have also been heavily impacted by the incident.
“The people have opened their pockets and their hearts. I suppose it’s the magnitude of the impact that I have made in Paarl and people want to help the staff especially. We’re trying to support them for as long as we can, but again we can’t do it forever because we’re not going to have an income for the next few months. I can’t explain how people have reached out and wanting to help in any way whether to clean up or whatever.”
For Coutsides the flood of support is a bittersweet feeling and he is utterly amazed by the amount of people that have reached out to him days after the incident. He says he can’t thank everyone enough for their support.
“On the bright side it takes you a few days to maybe realize and say ‘it’s done and over and there’s nothing that we can do’. So, we’re just going to try and look forward now and focusing on opening again in the future.”
“The fire department was there and they did their best. The owners of the farm HCI Laborie was also very good and everybody jumped in and did their thing, especially on the day. People came out to hand out water and asking if we’re alright. It was amazing that the Paarl people always just seem to stick together or trying to help people. I honestly from the bottom of my heart and with tears in my eyes just want to thank everybody for assisting in whatever way.”
Dereck Peceur, Drakenstein’s acting manager for fire, rescue and disaster management, says their crews managed to save the historic manor house and the second accommodation wing and other buildings on the site from the fire.
A BackaBuddy fundraising campaign has since been started in an effort to rebuild Cucina Di Giovanni.
Meanwhile Laborie Estate have reopened following initial closure after the fire, and shared in a notice that operations will continue on the rest of the estate, including the remaining restaurants and accommodation facilities.
- On the same day (Saturday 20 December) a fire broke out in the Thembani informal settlement in Mbekweni, of which the cause is also unknown at this stage.
“The municipality provided humanitarian assistance to the affected residents, including meals, care packages (food and toiletries) and blankets. Gift of the Givers further supported the displaced by providing hot meals to over 100 people. Drakenstein Municipality cleared the affected site of burnt material and leveled the area. We also provided starter kits, including building materials, to help residents rebuild their homes,” relayed Peceur.
