The generous Glossopdale community has rallied round to support a high street restaurant which was destroyed by a fire. 

Hyssop Restaurant & Bar, at 54 High Street West, has been devastated by the blaze on Wednesday (14 September) which was understood to have been caused by a tumble dryer. 

An image shared by the business shows how the fire gutted the upstairs floor while flames spilled from the ground floor of the back of the restaurant.

In a Facebook post, the restaurant - which was founded by chef Paul Sykes and his partner Jess Hine - described it as "quite easily the worst day of our lives". 

They said: "Our whole top floor of the restaurant went up in flames and we’ve lost the lot. Thankfully Paul and all of the staff managed to escape unharmed. No lives were lost and that is the most important thing.

"We are trying our best to contact all of our bookings and we are obviously trying to figure out the next stages. Please bare with us, we are still trying to process what’s happened and along with trying to keep our business afloat financially, it’s going to be a long road ahead. Thank you for all of your kind messages. We have to get through this." 

Some of the extensive damage caused by the fire. Image: Hyssop Glossop. 

'Any loss of earnings will be catastrophic to our future' 

The tragedy comes at what is already a challenging time for hospitality, with energy and food price rises, the aftermath of Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis. 

The restaurant’s sister business Two Hares Deli on High Street East is still up and running but Hyssop - which features in the 2022 Michelin guide - has launched a crowdfunding page in a bid to help get them back on their feet before their insurance money kicks in. 

"As we wait to get the ball rolling on the rebuilding of our business completely from scratch, we have to come up with a way to keep the finances afloat to pay the bills and staff going forward in the coming months," the restaurant said.

"Just as many other businesses operate in this current economic climate, Hyssop survives week by week, and any loss of earnings will be catastrophic to our future. 

"We are trying to raise some funds to enable us to make part of our space functionable in order to trade in some way, shape or form, in order to keep things ticking. 

"We are so grateful for everybody's kind words and offerings, we are completely overwhelmed. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts." 

More than £4,700 has already been raised and you can donate to the crowdfunding page by clicking here.

'Absolutely awful news' 

The modern European restaurant has been inundated with well-wishes on social media from local people since the fire, with many offering to help in any way and vowing to return when the business reopens. 

High Peak MP Robert Largan said: "Really sad to hear about the fire at Hyssop. I hope everyone is ok and that such a fantastic restaurant bounces back quickly. I’ll certainly look forward to eating there again soon. Please do support them if you can. One of High Peak’s most exciting young businesses, recently listed in the Michelin Guide." 

Cllr Damien Greenhalgh, deputy leader of High Peak Borough Council, commented: "Absolutely awful news about the fire at Hyssop on the High Street. My heart goes out to Paul Sykes, Jess Hine and William Webb, the owners, and their staff. I'm so glad no one was harmed.

"Thanks to those from Glossop Fire Station and Glossop Police SNT who attended. Here's hoping Hyssop will rebuild, better and stronger than before. I know our community will support and be willing them on all the way." 

A number of firefighters attended the scene to help extinguish the blaze

Glossop Creates - which brings together local independent creative businesses and individuals to profile their services and support the local economy - said: "Like many Glossop initiatives and businesses, we are absolutely devastated at the news and would like to send our heartfelt wishes to the amazing team at this truly wonderful restaurant, which has been pivotal in putting the town on the map for incredible food."

High Street West was closed between the junction with Cross Street and the junction with Arundel Street/Chapel Street for around three hours whilst emergency services responded to the fire, which broke out at around 5pm. 

Electricity supplies to nearby properties were also affected on Wednesday evening and into Thursday. 

A spokesperson for Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service told the Glossop Chronicle that the fire investigation is ongoing.

They added: "We were called to a building fire at 17.31 hours on 14 September. This was a fire in the open plan restaurant area on the first floor of the building on High Street West, Glossop.

"We had two crews (on-call and wholetime) from Glossop in attendance, in addition to a crew from Greater Manchester. We also had an aerial ladder platform from Greater Manchester." 

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