Owner of popular East Sussex diner ‘devastated’ after fire tears through business: Sussex Police investigating cause of blaze

Maximum Diner has announced that the restaurant is currently closed while it works with insurers, the landlord, their agents and gas and electricity providers.

Sussex Police confirmed: “Police responded to a report of a fire at a premises in High Street, Uckfield, at about 2.10am on Tuesday, February 27.”

Owner Mustafa Gurol, 41, from Peacehaven, told the Sussex Express: “I’ve owned the diner for the past ten months and I’ve been working in the diner for 23 years. It’s family-owned – it was my dad’s who kind of stepped down and semi-retired but he comes in and helps me still.”

He said: “It’s just me and him and we work together.”

He added: “I’ve been there since 2001 and it’s been built up. The shop’s been open since 1993, it’s one of the longest standing shops in Uckfield and it’s just devastating.”

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Mustafa said: “I’m dealing with insurers at the moment to see what can be done and how quickly it can be done.”

But he warned that reopening the diner might take a while and said there is no definite date yet.

He said: “Hopefully we can open up as soon as possible – that’s the only aim. There’s the idea that we can close the back off and maybe just operate as a takeaway and not have any eat-ins but that's challenging as well.”

Mustafa explained that the boiler is in a room that caught fire so the lack of hot running water makes it difficult to do anything at the moment. But he said he will let customers know of any significant updates on social media.

Sussex Police said: “Officers are investigating the cause of the fire. Witnesses or anyone with relevant information such as CCTV or mobile phone footage is asked to report it to Sussex Police online, quoting serial 78 of 27/02.”

A spokesperson for East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service (ESFRS) said: “Crews from Uckfield, Barcombe and Crowborough were in attendance. Firefighters used four breathing apparatus and two hosereel jets to extinguish the fire, as well as thermal imaging cameras to check for hotspots.”