The owner of a Dundee takeaway says his business is rising from the ashes after a “devastating” fire.
Tandoori Hut in Charleston was ravaged by the blaze in April.
The fire started at an electrical socket and left large parts of the building unusable.
Owner Ghulam Murtaza says he was called to the premises on Craigowan Road by police, when he discovered the extent of the damage.
He told The Courier: “We locked up at around 11pm that night and got the call in the early hours of the morning.
“The whole kitchen area and back store was basically destroyed.
“It was so disheartening to come in and see the extent of the damage.
“The family have had this premises in Charleston for over 50 years.
“We opened the Tandoori Hut in 2004 but before that it was a newsagent.
“As soon as the fire safety inspections were carried out we knew we wanted to come back.”
Another driving factor in reopening the venue on Monday (July 25) was the memory of former owner Mohammed Issa MBE, a past Dundee Citizen of the Year.
The businessman lost his battle with cancer earlier this year but played a key role in the site becoming a takeaway.
Mohammed Issa ‘driving factor’ in takeaway reopening
Ghulam said: “Mohammed had been a huge driving factor in transforming this into a takeaway.
“He was the the original owner and saw the potential in making the Tandoori Hut a reality.
“Given the time he’d invested, it has definitely been another driving factor in getting this place back up and running.”
He added: “It has been a challenging few months but we managed to get all the workers other jobs on a temporary basis.
“We can’t wait to get the staff back and welcome our customers through the door, both old and new ones.
“We’ve also added an ice cream parlour as part of the renovations.
“Out of this devastation it’s great to see this new premises emerging from the ashes.”
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