The owner of a restaurant forced to close after a major fire has announced 'miracle' plans to reopen in just six weeks time.

The blaze erupted at Mu Mu in Week Street in Maidstone in the early hours of July 14 and firefighters spent hours battling it.

Now, just weeks after the fire hit, owner Ciaran O'Quigley has announced FiFi's Brasserie will reopen on Monday, October 4.

His team and contractors who have been drafted in, have been working around the clock to rebuild the iconic venue exactly as people have grown to love it over the years.

Mr O'Quigley, who has owned the premises for 29 years, says he has even started accepting bookings for Christmas.

He added: "We are picking up where we left off and are hoping to do it in three stages.

"First will be the restaurant opening, then hopefully by December we can open the Madam Mu Mu's Cabaret and then the nightclub probably in January or February next year.

"It's a miracle to get the restaurant up and running, we have been working 24-hours a day to try and get it going.

"We just need to start again and hopefully we can get back on our feet."

Much of the artwork Mr O'Quigley had commissioned, and the Parisian chandeliers made especially for Mu Mu were saved and will be reinstalled exactly as they were.

He added: "The artwork I had commissioned in New York and Paris, the Roman figures, and a unicorn smashing out of the walls, were all saved so it will be back as it was to the original design.

"There won't be any changes really, only the refurbishments to the bathrooms and the oak wood flooring which is being put in.

"The artwork is by Slasky whose designs are Roman renaissance meets modern design. I have worked with him for the last three years so everything is unique to us."

To start with, Mu Mu will be offering a special three course set menu for just £15 from Monday to Thursday.

The following weekend, after opening night, will also see the return of its famous Bitchy Bingo, R&B, and Drag Queen bottomless brunches.

At its height, 15 fire engines were sent to the scene, as well as a height vehicle and a command support unit.

It's estimated around 60 firefighters were in attendance.

Despite the damage, Mr O'Quigley said part of the reason why the reopening can happen so soon is because structurally, the building is not as bad as it looks.

He added: "People think we burned to the ground but we are quite lucky that it was just the roof and the iconic building is still intact.

"The top part of the building is where our store room was so that’s where we kept our alcohol so it probably made it look worse than it was.

"But even so it’s nice to have it back so quickly, there are a lot of local people that are spurring us on.

"We really feel like part of the community and we’re pleased to be able to give the building life again."

To say thank you to the community that pulled the business through the tough time, Mr O'Quigley has also said when everything is back up and running, he hopes to give something back by offering Madam Mu Mu's theatre space to residents, schools or charities to use.

Bookings can be made online from today. Click here for more details.

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