A Peckham restaurant owner, who appeared on the ITV 2 show ‘Peckham’s Finest’, has started a fundraiser to save her restaurant, which was destroyed in a fire.
South London born-and-bred Nazli Ramadan, 29, who opened Bando Belly at Peckham Levels, Rye Lane, in January 2021, awoke last Wednesday to dozens of missed calls.
To her horror, she was told her restaurant had caught ablaze in the early hours of the morning on Wednesday, May 11. A report will establish the cause of the fire.
Nazli, also known as Naz, said: “The site manager at Peckham Levels showed me the doorway of the kitchen over FaceTime and it was completely black and dark.
“I just threw my phone. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. I poured my heart and soul into that place.”
Naz, who was born in Lewisham Hospital and spent her childhood in and around Peckham, has started a GoFundMe with a £10,000 target.
Still awaiting the fire report, she doesn’t know the financial cost of the blaze yet, but knows she’ll need money to get Bando Belly back on its feet.
For now, donated cash will help to pay staff, including one employee who is pregnant, while the restaurant works out its next move.
The money could also be used to organise more fundraising events over the coming weeks, something which she has already discussed with the Prince of Peckham pub and Deeper into Movies Cinema, Dalston, which both kindly reached out.
Naz, formerly the Deputy Young Mayor of Lewisham, has already raised over £1,500. She said: “The support I’ve received from my friends and family has been sensational and it continues to be amazing.
“I’ve always been a community person and I’ve always been about my people so I have a lot of people that support me.”
Naz started Bando Belly having already gained experience in the restaurant business from working at her family’s restaurant, Kitchen 41, on Queens Road.
Bando Belly serves soul fusion food including burgers, tacos, steaks and salads. Naz said: “It was pretty hard the first year through Covid. There were lots of trials and tribulations.
“You’re constantly learning and we were just getting to a place where it was about to go to the next stage.
“We had this sick little team – my mum was helping out with front of house. It felt like the business was starting to flow properly.”
But Naz is adamant the fire won’t determine her, or the business’s future: “I’m staying in Peckham. I am the Peckham princess. The Peckham princess can’t leave Peckham.”
Naz plans to salvage surviving stock from the restaurant, and give it out to local food banks.
Donate to Naz’s GoFundMe here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-naz-rebuild-after-bando-belly-blaze