The night of the fire, November 28, at Dubai Shawarma kebab shop  in Seven Sisters Road

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THE owner of a kebab shop which was destroyed in a ferocious fire in Seven Sisters Road has spoken for the first time about watching his business burn to the ground.

Chenar Mohamed, owner of Dubai Shawarma, said: “I was crying. It was hard for me. I was just looking. I couldn’t talk.”

He has set up a fundraiser to try and cover the cost of getting his shop back after the blaze on November 28 destroyed the building and flats above.

Mr Mohamed told the Tribune this week: “One night, about 3.47am, the director called me and said ‘your shop is on fire’. I said, ‘How? Why?’ He said he didn’t know as well.”

He rushed to the scene from his mother’s home in Kentish Town where he was staying.

“It was a big fire just coming out of the building and lots of smoke and all the fire people around,” Mr Mohamed said.

The burnt-out building

Around 100 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze. The ground-floor restaurant was destroyed and a flat roof on the ground floor collapsed.

Part of two flats on the first and second floors of the building were also damaged. Five people were taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service crews after suffering smoke inhalation.

Mr Mohamed said: “Nobody was seriously injured, which was the main thing for me. But it is very very hard. There were seven, eight people working inside. All of them are out of a job now.”

Dubai Shawarma had only been open for around seven months. This was the first kebab shop Mr Mohamed had opened, and it took over from a former chicken shop. He said he spent £250,000 doing it up.

Mr Mohamed said he and his friend were arrested by police investigating the fire but then had been released on bail.

“On the day we were standing here, the police said: ‘Who’s the owner of the place?’ I say it’s me. Then they took me just to investigate, and then they said to go.

Chenar Mohamed

“I said ‘listen, what kind of benefit am I going to get if I did it?’, because I don’t have any insurance to get the money back. I’ve got a very busy shop.”

He added: “Most of the police from Islington, Camden, they come to eat here. The same day when the police were there, most of them cried because they know what we have here.

“We don’t know till now, what’s happening exactly. Did somebody do it? Is it gas, or is it electricity?”

Mr Mohamed said he is now working part time in his brother’s butcher shop a few doors down, but has to check in with police while on bail.

Mr Mohamed added: “This is a first time in my life, I think in this country, 25 years, first time I’ve been to the police station.

“I have to go to sign in at the police station every Monday and Friday. I feel so bad when I come here and these people – most of them, they’re doing bad things and I have to be in the same queue.”

The appeal said: “We are committed to returning stronger than ever and continuing to be a positive presence. Your support will not only help us rebuild our business but also allow us to continue fulfilling our vision being able to serve quality food at affordable prices.”

You can find the appeal online at: www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-help-dubai-shawarma-london-after-building-fire