‘I’m very worried’: Mexican bakery in East Durham shut down after fire
The owner of a popular Mexican bakery in East Durham said it might be months — maybe even longer — until he will be able to reopen after an overnight fire caused serious damage to the shop.
Around 1 a.m. Tuesday, a fire broke out at Panadería Mi Lindo Michoacán on the 1800 block of Liberty Street. The bakery, located in a small strip mall, is also known as Panadería y Pastelería La Perla.
The building was unoccupied, and no injuries were reported, the Durham Fire Department said.
But the bakery will remain closed until repairs are made, the fire department said.
“I’m very worried,” said Rodolfo Cortez, 40, in Spanish in an interview with The News & Observer. He has owned the bakery for four years.
“You don’t expect this and then it happens suddenly,” he said late Tuesday afternoon. “You get worried and you wonder about what to do and if you’ll be able to make it.”
An alarm in the business went off at approximately 1 a.m., and Cortez arrived to find his business in flames. It took 31 firefighters to extinguish the flames, the fire department said in a news release.
The building sustained heavy heat and smoke damage. At mid-day, the smell of smoke lingered from the strip mall, including inside a Laundromat, which remained open. A nearby Rent-A-Center business sustained minor smoke damage and was closed Tuesday.
A glance inside the bakery’s windows stained with black smoke showed severe fire damage. Sunlight entered through holes in the ceiling.
“I was thinking about seeing if any equipment survived the fire, but the odor of the smoke is too strong inside,” Cortez said.
The cost of the damages to his business is still unknown. The Durham Fire Department said the cause was determined to be accidental.
“I’m waiting to see what the building’s owner will say about what’s next for us,” Cortez said. “You don’t understand what happened, what failed, and you’re in shock.”
GoFundMe to support Durham business
Cortez counts on his bakery as his sole source of income. His three employees are now out of work. but they’ve been supportive, he said.
Family members and friends have come to his family’s aid in the wake of the fire and organized an online GoGundMe fundraiser at gofund.me/e39964b3 to help.
Cortez’s niece, Pilar Hurtado Gutierrez, set up the fundraiser. Her family is greatly impacted as well, since her parents worked in the bakery.
“My uncle put in his effort and hard work to make his business keep running,” wrote Hurtado Gutierrez. “He dedicated his time and effort to make his dream come true.”
This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 9:06 AM with the headline "‘I’m very worried’: Mexican bakery in East Durham shut down after fire."
