THE owners of a Dean Street cafe badly damaged by fire say they've been overwhelmed by community support and plan to rebuild.
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Hanna and Sam Kadi would have been celebrating a year in business this week, after moving from Melbourne to the Border to open As Thick as Thieves.
"If it was up to us we would have started by now, but we have to wait for insurance," Ms Kadi said.
"We're devastated.
"We were hoping it was a nightmare, a bad dream.
"But everyone has just been so positive, trying to get us through this."
The brother and sister pair attended the incident on Thursday night and returned the following morning.
The roof was damaged by the fire, which appeared to have started in the kitchen, with further damage at the rear of the property.
Ms Kadi said it was unclear how long it would take to reopen.
Other businesses have offered to take on affected employees during the closure.
"Everyone is just there for us," she said.
"On Friday, people were crying with us.
"They felt our pain."
The owners have been unable to get back inside the burnt building.
The cause of the fire is being investigated and security vision from the cafe has been given to police.
Ms Kadi said family members in Melbourne were amazed by the support given to the pair.
"We want to stay here. We don't want this to be a U-turn for us," she said.