EDMONTON – One of the owners of a decades-old bakery that burned down on 118 Avenue over the weekend is vowing to rebuild.
“Absolutely we’re gonna rebuild,” Italian Bakery’s Renato Frattin said. On Monday, Frattin said he began looking into whether other bakeries could take care of supplying his wholesale customers until the future becomes clearer.
“There’s just so many unanswered questions right now,” he said.
Firefighters were called to a blaze at 42 Street and 118 Avenue late Saturday night and it wasn’t completely extinguished until about 8 a.m. the next morning.
READ MORE: Owners devastated after fire destroys Italian Bakery on 118 Ave.
Frattin said it’s not yet clear exactly what can be salvaged but that the fire was devastating.
“Everyone’s in shock,” he said. “It’s almost like a death.”
Paul Pereira may not be one of the bakery’s owners, but after working there for nearly 39 years, said the store is very special to him.
“You know some jobs… There’s high-paying jobs of course and you’re not happy – this (working at Italian Bakery) is happy,” he said, adding that he’s confident the business will rebound. “When things get tough, we’re there for each other – we put everything else aside.”
Italian Bakery’s first location on 97 Street was opened by Antonio and Aurora Frattin in 1960. The bakery that caught fire over the weekend has been operating since the mid-1980s.
“It’s really the heart of the community,” Cornel Rusnak, executive director of the Beverly Business Association, said. “It’s probably one of the primary attractions for people all over Edmonton to come here to buy their bread and their pastries.”
“The people here are really sick about it,” he added. “Yesterday was like a viewing – people going by and looking at the place and just everybody had a story.”
According to Rusnak, Italian Bakery is the core business in Beverly, one whose brand the area’s business community builds off of.
Renato Frattin said while it has been a difficult loss for his family, he is overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the community.
“(The) community is unbelievable. When I think about the community, I gotta choke back tears and I’m so happy and proud to be an Edmontonian,” he said.
Frattin also said his family’s company will continue to bake for its retail customers at its 97 Street location until its wholesale operation is up and running again, and that he would like to rebuild in the same location.
With files from Quinn Ohler