Fire in the Don Arcade
On 28 October 2020, a fire broke out in the rubbish room shared by multiple restaurants in the Don Arcade next to Glenferrie Station.
The fire occurred on the same day that Melbourne's Stage 4 lockdown was lifted, allowing pubs and restaurants to re-open with dine-in customers, and caused an electrical fault forcing nearby traders on Glenferrie Road to close for approximately two weeks. This included L'Burger, Oporto, 7/11, and Schnitz. Around the corner in the Don Arcade The Resistance Bar and Cafe, which shares the rubbish room where the fire took place, also closed for two weeks and later opened on 10 November.
Other traders in the Don Arcade backing on to the rubbish room were not so lucky. Oscar Mike, Osha Thai, and Klang & Co. suffered from severe smoke damage requiring rewiring, re-painting, and deep cleaning works, with no noticeable repair or refurbishment works throughout November or December. After initially posting that they would be closed for one week, Osha Thai updated in a Facebook comment that they hoped to re-open in late January.
Oscar Mike have served coffee to the Glenferrie community from the Don Arcade since 2012. On 7 November 2020, the cafe's owner Cavin started a GoFundMe donation page to help cover the significant costs of the repairs required to re-open, explaining that “insurance isn't covering much of the loss”. By December, community donations to the 'Oscar Mike Fire Recovery Fund' surpassed its $8,000 goal.
While there is no telling exactly when these refurbishment works will be completed, we hope to see these Glenferrie traders reopen as soon as they can - perhaps with a brand new face.
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