MUMBLES: ‘Absolutely devastated’ Verdi’s closed after overnight fire

Verdi’s, the ice cream parlour and café on the Mumbles seafront at Knab Rock, is closed after a fire broke out overnight.

Fire crews were called to the seafront at 2.09am on Thursday, with engines from Swansea West, Swansea Central and Port Talbot sent to the scene.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said the fire was confined to the kitchen and toilet area of the building, and crews had left the scene by 4.44am.

Nobody was injured in the blaze, owner Ryan Hole said, but the café and restaurant will stay shut while the team assess what happens next.

In a statement posted on the café’s Facebook page on Thursday morning, Mr Hole said: “Verdi’s was affected by a fire overnight. Whilst we’re still coming to terms with what has happened, we’re relieved that nobody was injured and everyone is safe.”

He added: “We’re absolutely devastated, but we’ll do everything we can to get Verdi’s back open as soon as it’s safe to do so.”

Mr Hole said he knew how much the restaurant meant to the team, customers and the Swansea community, and was “incredibly grateful for all of the messages of support already”.

He also thanked the fire service “for their swift response and professionalism”.

Verdi’s has been a fixture of the Mumbles seafront for decades, churning out up to 30 flavours of fresh cream Italian ice cream a day, with seating for hundreds looking straight out across Swansea Bay.

The business was run for generations by the Moruzzi family before being taken over in 2023 by the Hole family, whose Secret Hospitality Group runs a string of venues across Swansea including The Secret Beach Bar and Kitchen.

Messages of support poured in within minutes of the announcement, with well-wishers relieved that nobody was hurt and hoping the parlour is scooping again soon.

Photographs shared on social media overnight showed flames breaking through the roof of the building and smoke drifting across Mumbles Road.

The fire service said crews used four breathing apparatus sets and two hose reel jets to put out the fire, with a thermal imaging camera and gas monitor also deployed. The cause of the fire has not yet been identified, it added.

It is understood the fire started in a boiler storage area at the café.

It is the third fire to hit a Mumbles landmark in four years.

In August 2022, a blaze which started at the former Cinderella’s nightclub destroyed a row of buildings beside Mumbles Pier, sending smoke across the bay. Police later found no evidence it was deliberate.

Two years later, fire tore through the roof space of the pier’s arcade in the early hours of an August morning. Investigators ruled that blaze accidental.

The fire at Verdi’s comes at the height of the summer season, with the school holidays in full swing and the seafront at its busiest.

Mr Hole said he would keep customers updated “over the coming days as we know more”.