Alessi Bakery customers respond to fire and sudden closure
TAMPA, FL (FloridaToday.news) — A fire at Tampa’s Alessi Bakery temporarily closed business Monday night.
The Tampa Fire and Rescue Department said arriving crews found the fire coming from a refrigerator outside the bakery just before 9:00 pm.
The brigades managed to prevent the fire from spreading to the main part of the enterprise and put it out within 25 minutes.
On Tuesday, crews worked to clean up and reopen the business.
Alessi bakery temporarily closed due to fire
Mike Hughes and his wife now live in Atlanta but are originally from Tampa. Hughes said no trip to Tampa would be complete without a visit from Alessi.
“One of the things we do, a ritual for us, is come here and pick up some Cubans, and to our dismay, it’s closed this morning, I think because of the fire,” Hughes said.
Janice Salter drove from Brandon to pick up the cake before learning the business was closed.
“I used to come here every Saturday to get my dessert for Sunday and now I’m back. I get an upside down cake and now I’m upset. However, I will have to go back,” Salter said.
The bakery released a statement regarding the fire: “Despite this incident, Alessi Bakeries will continue to bake signature cakes and catering from Wednesday and open to the public this weekend. Our plans to celebrate the 111th anniversary on September 23 and 24 have not changed. We’ve survived wars, pandemics and wildfires in over a century, and with the support of our community, we’re committed to providing sweet and savory treats for another 111 years.”
No one was inside the bakery at the time of the fire and no one was injured, according to the Tampa Fire and Rescue Service.
