Fires that destroyed one Greek restaurant and significantly damaged another will not stop the family-run businesses, with the owners reaffirming they are determined to reopen as quickly as possible.
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Fences have been put up around the burnt-out shell of the Olive restaurant at the Mawson Southlands shopping centre, and insurance and building inspectors have gone through the site.
Early on Wednesday morning, fires that appear to have been deliberately lit were extinguished at two restaurants owned by the Yianoulakis family in Mawson and Hawker.
The Mawson fire destroyed the restaurant, and a costume-hire business that shared the building also sustained significant damage.
Staff at surrounding businesses in Mawson were able to return to work on Thursday, but it could be months before the Yianoulakis family's restaurants reopen.
Owner Dimitri Yianoulakis said the Hawker restaurant could be fixed but structural engineers had determined Mawson was a total loss.
"In all honesty, I think we're four to five months at least closed," he said.
"We're still reeling from the devastation."
Mr Yianoulakis said the two sites had been handed back by police after forensic analysis and he was working with building inspectors, insurers and the owner of the Mawson site, who would look to rebuild.
He said the family was keen to get the restaurant up and running as quickly as possible and would look for another location if the reconstruction process was set to take too long.
"We need a building that would suit our needs, so we're obviously not ruling out staying with our current landlord," Mr Yianoulakis said.
The Mawson building is owned by Michael Kouper, who could not be reached for comment.
Mr Kouper owns a significant Canberra property portfolio, including the Kingston Hotel.
Costume-hire business Just Clowning Around co-owner Brendan Lee said on Thursday he hoped the business would be back up and running quickly after talking to his insurance providers.
"It's looking like it's possibly a total write-off and we won't be operating out of [Mawson] for a while," he said.
Mr Lee said he hoped the business would be operating again in four or five weeks, either in another shop in Mawson or at another site.
ACT Policing was not aware of any further risks to the public apart from damage to the building, a spokesman said.
