Bedford Restaurant Owner Devastated By Fire Officials Say Is ‘Suspicious’
HALIFAX – David Nicholson was emotional on Wednesday morning as he toured the inside of his burned-out restaurant. For 10 years, Sydelle’s Fish and Chips was one of the most popular restaurants in Bedford and now it was in ruins.
“I’m in the building right now for the first time. It’s pretty much a write-off,” Nicholson told Huddle.
“I’m walking in here now trying to hold back tears.”
The fire started at Sydelle’s mid-afternoon on Tuesday. It took firefighters roughly an hour to put out. Nicholson is emphatic that the fire was a result of arson.
“They lit the dumpsters on fire, then they went down to the basement, which is a separate exit…and they lit napkins on fire on an old pile of insulation that was in the basement,” said Nicholson.
Nicholson owns the business but not the building, and has been leasing the space for the past ten years. He believes the building is insured, but he doesn’t have his own policy for the building.
The restaurant owner says the fire was lit, despite an employee being upstairs at the time. He also said this wasn’t the first time someone set fire to a dumpster on his property in the last three weeks. Nicholson was at home when the fire started, waiting for his children to come back from visiting their grandma.
“I have no idea (why someone would target Sydelle’s). I’ve been here for 10 years and never had any issues like that. I mean, you get theft once in a while, but that happens,” said Nicholson.
“It’s kind of weird in the middle of the day, you know what I mean.”
RELATED: Firefighters Battle Blaze At Sydelle’s Fish And Chips In Bedford
A spokesperson for the Halifax Fire Department confirmed that this was the second call-out to Sydelle’s within a few weeks and called the fire “suspicious.” He could not say, however, if the fire has been ruled an act of arson.
Another spokesperson for the Halifax Regional Police also called the fire suspicious. He said the incident is still under investigation and no ruling has been made yet to the cause of the blaze.
When word spread about the fire through social media on Tuesday, there was an immediate outpouring of support. Sydelle’s had a reputation of having some of the best fish and chips in the HRM, along with having friendly service.
The fire came at the worst time possible for Sydelle’s. Like many other restaurants, it was losing a lot of money due to Covid-19. He also has no insurance and no other source of income.
“Like a lot of other people, I have a young family to support,” said Nicholson. “My bank account was cleared out over Covid…for two months straight I was losing money every day.”
RELATED: How One Customer’s Review Caused Sydelle’s To Sell Out Of Food
During and after the fire, Nicholson received hundreds of private messages and public comments of support and sympathy. Some were even willing to start a Gofundme campaign to help the business owner get back on his feet. Nicholson is conflicted about receiving donations from the community.
“It’s difficult for myself to comment on that because, while I don’t consider myself prideful, I do have a certain amount of pride,” he said. “I started this business out of my pocket without help from anyone.”
“But I’m in a position now, with a little bit of help, I can do some really good stuff.”
Nicholson is thanking the community for the outpouring of support and is hoping to have a new location for his business in the future.