THE OWNER of a well known shop and restaurant business in New Ross has told The Echo that she plans to re-open the premises again ‘as soon as possible’ after the building was damaged by fire last weekend.

The Upper Deck Café on Mary Street is widely regarded as one of the town’s finest eateries. In business at the premises for over 20 years, owner Ann McDonald, told this newspaper that she plans to get the business up-and-running again as soon as possible.

The fire broke out on Thursday morning and was centred around the kitchen area of the premises.

It’s believed a chip pan may have been the source of the fire which caused extensive damage to the kitchen section of the business.

The café is a two-storey business and while the lower section was undamaged by the blaze there is some slight smoke damage in that part of the building.

However, parts of the second floor were badly damaged in the fire which was tended by two units of New Ross Fire Service.

Following the blaze the premises was sealed off and will remain closed in the short-term.

A notice on the shutters outside the building this week offered an apology to customers for any inconvenience caused to customers and that point was reiterated by Mrs. McDonald when she spoke to The Echo.

“I just want customers to know that we plan to have it open again as soon as we possibly can,” she said.

The café has a large volume of regular clientele and Mrs. McDonald is looking forward to welcoming them back through the door of the café in the coming months.

Thankfully, no-one was injured in the blaze.