The owners of a Nottinghamshire bistro have been told to make urgent renovations in their building to be able to use the downstairs space. Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service officials visited The Little Brickhouse, in Derby Road, in October and January.
The fire service determined there were parts of the building that would need to be renovated to bring it up to regulations and asked that this is done by July 2023.
Owners Katarina Linnenbrick and Joaqim Nielson shared the news on social media and the community instantly sprang into action to help them raise money. An event is planned for March 18 along with a Kickstarter campaign.
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"A nice gentleman called out to us in October to go through the building with us. They found that there are a lot of things we need to change in order to have the downstairs fully functioning with as many covers as we need," Katarina said.
"We have to change the staircase and we need to move it into the dining room as the travel distance has to be under 18 metres and because we only have one exit, it needs to be moved. We need to try and change the ceiling and bring in new fire doors."
The buildings that Little Brickhouse is in have been undergoing a transformation to restore them ready for new occupancy and save the historic row. However, the restoration only covers the outside of the building, not the interior repairs.
"We have a beautiful space but now we need to have all the regulations in place so that we can be happy everything is good. We want to see it as a positive thing but the problem is, it costs a lot of money."
Katarina and Joaqim have started to cost the renovations, which are around £20,000. The beautifully decorated basement space has already been given a new look with black walls, celestial sculptures and a small stage for events.
Plans are already in place to hold an event at the Bistro which will help to raise money for the repairs. Katarina is called the event, Little Brickstock.
"We want to call it Little Brickstock and see it as a positive thing because we are a place for the people. It's the most important thing for us because we love cooking for the people who visit us," she explained.
"We want to make a festival happen on Saturday, March 18 where we will have a fashion show, an auction and have DJ sets with bands playing. We have lots of people who support us which is lovely."
With so many repairs to do, would it not be easier to relocate? "We have our lease for another four years and we love it. We have the restaurant upstairs and the wine bar meets artspace downstairs. We don't want to leave," she said.
She added: "We have until July to make this happen and we are going to do everything in our power. This could potentially mean that we can't use the downstairs but it does mean that the bathroom needs to be fireproofed and we need a new fire door at the bottom."
"We had lots of people offering art, garments, DJ abilities, musicians and people saying they can work behind the bar for us that night. I'm a very positive person in that way and I believe in the community we have."
*Nottingham Post reached out to Nottingham Fire and Rescue Service and Nottingham City Council for comment
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