THE owner of the Green Mango Café in Ealing, destroyed in the riots of 2011, is appealing to the kindness of strangers to help him get his business up and running again.

Zac Hussain’s Asian food café at 24 The Green caught fire during the riots and was subsequently flooded, leaving it with a gaping hole in the roof and a crumbling interior.

The café did not qualify for a riots compensation pay-out as Mr Hussain had some insurance cover, though this has barely covered the mounting cost of rebuilding a business from scratch. 

“Everything I had, had gone. I do feel totally let down,” Mr Hussain said.
The supermarket next door had also been damaged by fire but, as it had no insurance cover, it was eligible for a pay-out under the Riot Act.

“They kicked up a lot of stink and managed to get their cause heard in front of the Prime Minister at Question Time," he said.

“They were very, very fortunate and, because of the publicity, they got a £250,000 pay-out."

Mr Hussain says he is struggling to make ends meet and to get a reasonable sum from his insurance company. His partner even has to buy his food as he has no income and no support.

The café had been in operation for only three months but business was going well. He initially began with just one full-time employee, but four more were hired after a couple of months of good trading and a positive turnover.

Mr Hussain was told he would have to pay business rates for the café, despite it not being in operation since it was set alight.

“Someone from the Central Arbitration Office came to the site to have a look and said 'as long as you’ve got walls you’re an operating business'," he said.

"I had a hole in the roof and one wall completely caved in, but they just wanted to see a pile of rubble.”

The business rates demand was appealed and rejected twice. Mr Hussain was then told he would have to appear in court a year ago. He appealed to council leader Julian Bell for help.

The court date has since been postponed, pending further investigation, which for the moment means he does not have to pay the escalating business rates on his non-operative business.

Mr Hussain is now appealing to the local community to help him rebuild the cafe. He has taken out two loans already and needs a further loan of £20,000 before the café can reopen.

“I’ve had a £5 donation, but obviously I need so much more,” he said.
The insurance company has paid Mr Hussain £300 for new windows, but in a glass-fronted business just one panel of glass costs £3,000. Ealing Council says it will help with the windows.“

I just want to raise awareness for donations. I’m still a victim of the riots and I’m crying out for help,” Mr Hussain said.

If you would like to help the rebuilding of Green Mango Café go to http://www.greenmangocafe.co.uk/

You can also follow the progress on Twitter, @GreenMango_Cafe