06-05-2025
Old Sarum: Cafe which 'burned to ashes' reopens in mobile van
A cafe which "burned to ashes" in a large fire that destroyed a World War One aircraft hangar has reopened in a mobile van. The team at Hangar 3, based at Old Sarum Airfield near Salisbury, Wiltshire, lost everything in the blaze and have relied on donations from members of the community to get the business up and running again. Justine Scott, the cafe manager, said: "You just have to pick yourself up, stick together as a team and do what you can and get the community involved.'Wiltshire Police is still investigating the cause of the fire that broke out at the Grade II listed site on 17 April. Anybody with footage or information is asked to contact the force.
The airfield is home to several organisations, with one hangar housing the Boscombe Down Aviation fire broke out a week after plans to build 315 homes were given the go-ahead after a planning battle. Plans also included restoring the World War One era hangar three that was extensively damaged by Storm Isha last year.
Following the incident, the Hangar 3 cafe team put out an appeal on social media for kitchen supplies and equipment to help them to start again. "People came up with so many things... it's been an absolute lifesaver," Ms Scott said. Alex Moldoveanu, the cafe's head chef, said it has been "really tough" but the team is now doing "quite well" in the mobile van."We're going to be reborn,' he said. "[The community] helped us a lot, so we want to give back as much as possible.'
