Liquid Room closed for up to a year after Khushi's blaze

Liquid Room bosses have said the club could remain closed for up to 12 months in the aftermath of the fire that gutted Khushi's Indian restaurant in December.

Lothian and Borders Police have said that they are not treating as suspicious the blaze which also led to the closure of Finnegan's Wake.

Following the fire, it took over a fortnight to make the Victoria Street building safe. Eyewitnesses describe 20 foot high flames shooting from the roof of the building.

Owners were only able to make an initial assessment of the property on 9 January. Though it had been hoped that the Liquid Room would reopen sooner, the extent of the water damage has put paid to early expectations.

Both Khushi’s and The Liquid Room suffered internal collapse after the fire, but no injuries were reported.

A police spokesperson said last week: “Initial reports show the Khushi’s fire was not suspicious.”

Hundreds of people had to be evacuated from the building after the alarm was raised shortly after 8pm on Friday 19 December.

Revellers had packed out the Liquid Room to see The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, whose show was interrupted just as they took the stage.

A repeat performance was scheduled for Studio 24, but reports on the band’s website suggest that most of their equipment was ruined during the blaze.

The Liquid Room’s regular club nights, including Evol and Luvely, have been temporarily moved to Faith nightclub on the Grassmarket.

All planned gigs will now be hosted by various other venues around the city.

A statement on the club’s website says: “It is with great sadness that we announce that the Liquid Room is no more… for the time being.

"After the horrendous fire that ripped through Khushi’s recently, we have unfortunately been the victim of severe water damage and internal structure collapse.

"As you can imagine we are all in shock and deeply saddened by the loss of an Edinburgh institution.”

The statement continues: “We are looking to the future and will be back in 2009, bigger and better than before.”

No details on the numbers evacuated from Khushi’s have been made available, but it is believed that the popular restaurant was very busy with pre-Christmas diners.

The last Friday before Christmas is often referred to as "Black Friday" by emergency services and the hospitality industry, due to the high volume of Christmas parties and outings.