Two Italian restaurants set on fire in Melbourne’s north
Police are on the hunt for two men believed to have ignited a fire at an Italian restaurant in Melbourne's north.
The incident occurred early Wednesday morning, with emergency services responding to a blaze at La Porchetta on the Melton Highway in Taylors Lakes around 2.45am. The front of the restaurant suffered extensive damage, although fortunately, no one was inside or injured during the incident.
Shortly after, a second Italian restaurant, Negroni 888 on Mount Alexander Rd in Essendon, was also set ablaze in a separate suspicious fire just minutes later. Fire Rescue Victoria managed to bring the second fire under control by 3.30am, but it too sustained significant damage.
Detective Senior Constable Rhiannon Downs, speaking outside La Porchetta, revealed that two men, one carrying a yellow jerry can, were observed exiting a grey sedan in the rear car park before fleeing the scene within three minutes. Investigators are exploring potential connections between the two fires, including any ties to organised crime or a series of recent fires targeting restaurants and tobacco stores.
“It appears they may have poured some accelerant over the front of the restaurant and lit it up before leaving the scene,” Detective Downs said.
“That will form part of our investigation but it’s too early to link these two jobs… (but) we can’t rule it out.
“We’ll look at everything, we’ll look at the links that the two (restaurants) may have, if any at all.”
The owners of La Porchetta, a family-run business, were devastated by the loss and were unable to provide any motives for the attack.
“They’re devastated at the loss of their business … hopefully (we) find who’s done this to their business but they’re absolutely devastated,” Sen-Constable Downs added.
“Obviously businesses don’t just light themselves on fire, so it will form part of our investigation as to what the motive is behind this.
“From what I know of the local area this is a favourite for the families and communities in this area.
“I think it’s atrocious (behaviour), the impact it’s going to have on this family and community far outweighs any monetary damage that they’ve done here.”
The investigation is ongoing.
Jonathan Jackson, 1st May 2024
