Above photo taken from http://www.panoramio.com

Above sign left, 2008, sign right, 2020 from Roger Pester.

Photo taken at night 31 August 2012 from http://www.flickr.com by Jeremy Sage.

DESPITE a fire gutting the kitchen, The "Albion Taverna" in Faversham has remained open.

Three fire engines were at the scene shortly after 7pm on Friday evening (June 20). They used hose reel jets to tackle the kitchen fire which started after a chip pan caught alight and sent flames in to the ventilation system.

Staff evacuated the customers in the restaurant and the fire crews turned up within ten minutes.

Kent Fire and Rescue were on site until 20.40pm and in that time had to cut open the ceiling of the kitchen to ensure there were no further flames above the ventilation system.

The "Albion," in Front Brents, opened again as normal on Saturday but with a reduced menu.

They are open for drinks and are offering snacks such as nachos, tacos and sandwiches, but estimate they might lose around 800 customers this week.

Above showing Gareth Finney with the fire damaged ventilation system.

Business partners Gareth Finney and Dan Sidders run the popular pub/restaurant.

Gareth, who is also Head Chef, said: “We're here anyway answering the phone, so we might as well just open.

“Friday was pretty much like, just get everybody out. We were open so we had a half-filled restaurant with customers, with more to come and we just did our best to get everybody out without panicking. And then call the fire brigade really.

“There was really nothing we could do for an hour or so while they ran in.”

Restaurant Manager Dan said: “We'd like to thank the staff for the way they behaved and the cool manner in which they helped the guests.”