Corte Campana set to reopen this Friday following a fire at Bell Court location late Saturday afternoon

Corte Campana hopes to reopen this Friday following a fire early last Saturday evening, 28th June.

Diners were evacuated from Bell Court pizza restaurant in Stratford after pizza boxes accidentally caught fire during service on Saturday evening around 5.45pm

Ellen Hawkins was having dinner with her two children, husband Neil and his parents when the emergency unfolded.

She told the Herald: “It was busy in the restaurant and outdoor seating and everyone had to leave. They blocked off the walkway past the public toilets and fire crew worked from the back. They went in to get our things but wouldn’t let anyone back in and sent everyone away and said not to worry about paying bills.

“The staff were all fabulous and made sure everyone was safe and apologetic and said the meals were all covered by them.”

Owner Christian Porzio told the Herald that he had been overwhelmed by the support shown by the community. And that the restaurant would resume service on Friday after maintenance work.

Confirming the circumstance of the fire he said: “It was pizza boxes in the proximity of an oven.

“Obviously, we very quickly responded to it, evacuated everybody for the signs of smoke without actually having any live flames yet. The fire developed once we started to try and tackle it.

“Eight fire extinguishers later, we managed to put it out before the fire service arrived. I was the last man out, ensuring everyone was safe.

“A colleague and myself were taken to Warwick by ambulance just to check just to measure our carbon monoxide levels in the blood, as it had been smoky, but it was all good.

“The fire service obviously attended to finish off and do the assessment, take some of the smoke out and whatnot.”

He added: “It escalated remarkably quickly - from smoke to a proper fire. But the damage wasn't too extensive, and so we're planning to reopen on Friday morning.”

Speaking of the support, Christian said: “Lots of friends in business and regular customers have offered their help as well, which is so nice, it’s overwhelming how much love we’ve been shown. So there’s no excuse not to crack on with it and get it up and running again.”

After cleaning up and replenishing the fire extinguishers, Christian says he is looking forward to serving loyal customers what Corte Campana is known for - delicious Napolitan pizzas, sweets and pastries, and organic wine.

“People love our authentic food,” said Christian who is from Naples, and set up Corte Campan at Bell Court in 2022 before moving to larger premises last year due to demand for its tasty pizzas.

“It's still made right in front of them. It's a very organic process that starts two days before, which, you know, we've got enough time to do it right in front of them from the very minute we start prepping to when it goes in the oven,” says Christian of what keeps customers coming back.

“Our staff are friendly and welcoming, and people in the kitchen that are from Italy… we hope we have good effect on our customers’ health!”