Several businesses are slowly re-building after a devastating fire this past March.

It affected 8 shops in a strip mall in Orleans; so far, 4 of them have re-opened. It's tough running a small business to begin with. 

But when you're dealing with a fire and all the uncertainty that brings the stress can be tremendous. Still, four businesses today are celebrating their re-birth after months of work to make it happen.

It's Lucie Goderre's birthday and what better place to celebrate, she says, than the gang's special spot.

“This is one of our favorites,” she says, as a table full of women sit down to a lunch time meal at the Little Turkish Village on St. Joseph Boulevard.

In fact, a few of the women have been going there almost since the Little Turkish Village opened 29 years ago.

“Really we would come here almost every Friday night for dinner,” says Georgina Gibbons.

That is until March of this year.  A massive fire ripped through the strip mall, causing a millions of dollars in damages and shutting down eight businesses including Sunil Kurichh's Little Turkish Village.

“I was here when the fire started,” he says, “Just to see the flames go up, it wasn't pleasant. But we were glad no one was hurt and everyone got out on time.”

The restaurant sustained smoke and water damage and the owner had to completely gut it and start over. At the Flowermania flower shop next door,  Dee Canares feels like the mythical Phoenix, rising from the ashes to start anew.

“Reborn, that's the word, reborn,” she says, “It's totally done, we're open full pack.”

The shop next to it, Puffalot, just re-opened a month ago.

While half of the mall has reopened, the other half is still months away.  The owner of the mall says they're still not certain whether they need to demolish that part of the building but the plan is to reopen within 6 to 8 months

It's believed the fire started at the far end of the strip mall. It's where the bulk of the work is now underway. At the other end of the mall, word has clearly gotten out that the Little Turkish Village is back in business, thanks to some pretty loyal customers who couldn't wait for the doors to re-open.

“About a week after they re-opened, we were here,” says Barbara Shier, part of Lucie Goderre’s birthday celebration, “and enjoyed ourselves.”

At least one of the other businesses, George and Son’s Upholstery, has relocated at least temporarily.  They are not sure at this point where they will end up permanently.