Olivia’s Restaurant in La Cala de Mijas, Spain, caught fire in the early hours of Monday morning.
The famous restaurant, owned by TOWIE star Elliott Wright, had just recently hired a new team for the summer season.
Wright, who also had his own TV show in Playa in Marbella, spent the winter working to get Olivia’s up and running for a post-COVID re-opening.
On the morning of the fire, when asked how the fire had started, the TV star said that he had no idea how it happened.
“I don’t have any enemies so I don’t even know if it’s arson or electrical,” said Wright.
In the days since the fire, Wright has taken to social media to express his grief and anger, claiming that the fire was the result of arson.
“I can say now that it is arson
“Someone’s come and taken my dream away, for whatever reason I will never know, because I don’t have any enemies as far as I’m aware of,” said Wright.
Wright reported that he had been planning to “push for a Michelen star” this year after investing 2.5 million euros into the restaurant over the past six years.
Two teams of fire fighters reported to the scene on Monday morning and spent two hours fighting the blaze. The teams reported that the first had started around 5:50am and declared it extinguished by 7:30am. The two-hour long blaze had been enough to leave the restaurant entirely gutted.
The source of the fire remains a mystery. Authorities have yet to rule out arson as a string of fires have been set at restaurants up and down the coast over the last few years, many of which have been linked to gang violence.
Despite the fire, however, Wright assured Olivia’s loyal customers on Instagram that “all that matters is that I will rebuild and WILL be back.”
