The owner of a Moray bar that was destroyed in a fire has revealed he is now “ready to rock” to try and resurrect his livelihood.
The Beach Bar in Lossiemouth was reduced to an empty shell in the blaze that ripped through the building and a neighbouring home nearly two months ago.
Following the incident, owner Graham Fleming refused to give up hope the popular seaside eatery could be revived.
Now the businessman, who has worked there for 30 years, has revealed that discussions with his insurers have allowed him to move forward with attempting to reopen the bar.
Structural engineers are expected to visit the site this week to establish whether the historic structure, which was originally built as the town’s public baths in 1875, can be saved or whether it needs to be demolished.
Owner of Moray bar that was burnt to the ground hopes it can be rebuilt
Mr Fleming said: “We’ve had to go through a process with the insurers while they do their due diligence.
“We’ve now crossed that bridge. It’s taken nearly eight weeks. I didn’t realise it would take as long as that.
“We’ve been busy during that time though speaking to architects and planners, just getting to the point where we couldn’t go any further.
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“We’re ready to rock now. We have a plan A and a plan B and depending on what the engineers say we’ll go with one or the other.”
The blaze that destroyed the Beach Bar and the home where Liz Wood and her two sons lived began in the early hours of the morning on September 22.
Mr Fleming arrived at the scene shortly after 6am and initially thought it would only cause minor damage before the flames took hold in the wind and spread through the roof.
Locals rallied behind the families affected in the aftermath. A benefit concert was held in the town at the weekend to continue to support the Wood family.
Heldon and Laich councillor John Cowe said: “It would be great to see the Beach Bar rise from the ashes and be rebuilt as part of the community, simply from the perspective of restoring the jobs that were there.
“The bar was very much part of the community though and it will be great to see it as part of the community again.”
