Owners of an iconic wedding venue in Byron say they are urgently calling customers and relocating weddings after fire destroyed the main building over the weekend.
Fire and Rescue NSW said fire-fighters received a call about a fire at the Fig Tree Restaurant and Rooms in Ewingsdale around 3:15 Saturday morning.
It took crews 45 minutes to put out the flames.
Brigades from Byron Bay, Bangalow, Brunswick and surrounding RFS Brigades reportedly worked hard to stop the fire from spreading to surrounding guest accommodation and houses but were unable to save the restaurant.
Authorities praised venue owner Che Devlin for for immediately evacuating guests from The Dairy, which they said was only 25 metres away from the fire.
The Devlin family said on Facebook they were in complete shock and the impact on the venue and their family home was heartbreaking.
But with Spring and Summer comes the year’s most popular time for weddings and the venue owners had to spend Saturday urgently relocating a wedding booked for the hilltop restaurant that day.
No one was hurt, and authorities say they are investigating the cause of the fire.
The restaurant was housed in one of Byron’s oldest buildings and Fire and Rescue NSW described it as a ‘Byron Bay institution’.
The venue’s namesake tree reportedly survived and the Devlins have told media they plan to rebuild.
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