The owners of a popular family-owned bakery in Toronto’s east end say they are devastated after an early-morning fire that damaged their business.
Toronto Fire Services said that at around 4:23 a.m. Thursday, a fire broke out at Fahmee Bakery near Brimley Road and Alexmuir Boulevard that primarily targeted the roof.
No one was injured and no one was inside of the bakery at the time of the blaze, officials said.
Ahmed Abdella, the owner of Fahmee Bakery, spoke to Global News and said he is still processing that their popular business has gone up in flames.
“I don’t know how much time it’s going to take to rebuild it again, but as far as I see, I think most of the damage is on the roof,” Abdella said.
Fahmee Bakery is known across the city for their Jamaican patties and is a leader for Caribbean cuisine. It has been in the same spot for four decades.
“If we clean it as fast as possible, we hope in a week we can be in business,” Abdella said. “That is a big hope. But otherwise if inside is damaged, it’s going to take a long time and we don’t know what to do until then.”
Meanwhile, other business owners in the plaza who are also family-owned and operated told Global News they are devastated by the fire.
“I don’t really know how to put it in words — it’s very devastating,” William Chong, owner of Dolly’s Crafts and Sports Cards said. “It affects our business. The Leafs are in the playoffs … the Jays are really big. To not be able to open, it’s brutal. It’s pretty bad.”
The owner of Sam’s hairstyling next door said he wants to work but can’t because of the fire damage.
The plaza was closed for the investigation, but parts of it have since reopened. The cause of the fire is not yet known.