AJ's Crossgar announces 'we are back' after devastating Boxing Day blaze

A popular Co Down restaurant has announced its long awaited reopening after a devastating fire on Boxing Day in 2023.

AJ's Diner, situated in the heart of Crossgar village, has been closed since the incident, which caused significant damage to the kitchen and seating area. The fire saw nine appliances, including an aerial appliance, called to the scene with breathing apparatus teams sent into the building to tackle the flames.

Sharing the good news with customers near and far on Thursday morning a spokesperson for AJ's confirmed they were open again to the public.

"Great news. We're back," they said.

"It's been 15 months since the fire on Boxing Day 2023 and we're delighted to be able to announce WE'RE OPEN!!

"We've been quietly working away last week to ensure all the new equipment, staff and procedures are in place and delighted to announce we are ready to go. We ask you to bear with us as its been a looooooooong 15 months and we want to make sure we have everything just right for all our wonderfully loyal customers who have stuck with us and been so supportive- it's means so much to us all.

"With this in mind we we are limiting our seating this week and therefore please be aware we expect to be very busy and may not be able to accommodate everyone straight away- we are confident we'll be back to full capacity very very soon.

"Finally, just to add, we won't be doing takeaways just yet but will keep you all posted when they will be available.

"We can't wait to welcome you back to the newly refurbished AJ's."

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