TAMPA, Fla. — A fire occurred at Alessi Bakery in Tampa on Monday night, leading to a temporary closure of the business.
Tampa Fire Rescue reported that fire crews arrived at the scene just before 9:00 p.m. and discovered the fire originating from an outdoor refrigerator area behind the bakery.
Fortunately, the crews were able to prevent the fire from spreading to the main part of the bakery and extinguished it within 25 minutes.
On Tuesday, efforts were made to clean up the premises and reopen the business. Mike Hughes and his wife, originally from Tampa but now residing in Atlanta, expressed their disappointment as visiting Alessi’s was a customary ritual for them whenever they visited Tampa.
They enjoyed getting Cuban sandwiches but were unable to do so due to the bakery’s closure caused by the fire.
Similarly, Janice Salter, who traveled from Brandon specifically to pick up a cake, was also disappointed to find out about the closure.
She used to visit the bakery every Saturday to purchase her dessert for Sunday and expressed her frustration at not being able to do so this time. Nevertheless, she stated her intention to return once the bakery reopened.
Alessi Bakery released a statement regarding the fire, mentioning their commitment to resuming specialty cake and catering operations from Wednesday onwards and reopening to the public during the upcoming weekend.
They reassured their customers that their plans to celebrate their 111th anniversary on September 23rd and 24th remained unchanged.
Despite facing challenges such as wars, pandemics, and fires over the past century, they expressed gratitude for the support of their community and pledged to continue providing delicious treats for another 111 years.
Fortunately, there were no individuals present inside the bakery at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported according to Tampa Fire Rescue.
