Restaurant has been open at the beach for decades
Praia da Luz’s iconic Paraíso beach restaurant in Lagos has been destroyed by a fire.
The family-run business, which has been based at the beach since 1964, has been reduced to little more than the wooden support posts that held the restaurant up.
A source from the Algarve’s Regional Civil Protection and Emergency Command confirmed that authorities were alerted to the blaze at 12.07am. The flames were battled for just under two hours, having been extinguished at 1.54am.
No one was injured in the fire, the source confirmed, adding that there is no information so far as to whether anyone was inside the restaurant when the blaze started.
Twenty-five members of maritime police, local firefighting forces and civil protection services were called to the scene, aided by nine vehicles.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
Paraíso has been a part of the Praia da Luz landscape for decades.
“What began in 1964 as a small food and beverage kiosk on the beach, a few years later expanded to include a small concession of awnings. The kiosk was subsequently enlarged, set up each bathing season, and dismantled at its end,” the restaurant’s website says.
“Then, in 1976, with much effort, it was expanded into a permanent building, where the Paraíso Bar-Restaurant was born. It remained operational until 2001 and reopened in 2002 with a new wooden remodelling,” it adds.
The Resident has tried unsuccessfully to contact the restaurant’s owners.
michael.bruxo@portugalresident.com
