A late night fire caused a lot of damage to a strip mall near 120th and Blondo Wednesday.
It happened just after 11 and it took crews about an hour to control the flames. Fire officials said Pettit's Pastry took a significant amount of the damage, about $500,000 total.
The cause of the fire is not known at this time. Bakery owner Mark Pettit speculates an electrical fire caused the blaze.
Pettit's Pastry suffered the most damage due to the fire. The fire broke out in the back of the building., according to investigators.
On Thursday, not even managers or Pettit were allowed inside the building because of the sinking ceiling due to an air conditioning unit on the roof. Pettit said he likely lost most of his equipment inside. He isn't sure if the damage will force crews to demolish the building. Either way, he plans on keeping his second store at the same address.
"It's tough, we're blessed, we have a great land lord," he said. "We'll go in and try something different."
Stems Florist moved into the strip mall last November. Fortunately, it suffered only smoke and water damage. But, it was enough to force business to move down the road into Piccolo's Florist, who opened their doors to stems. Manager Laura Sherrets said the fire isn't getting in the way of filling any orders.
"Frank Piccolo has welcomed us here, they made room for us and all day long got our orders out," she said. "Anybody with weddings coming up not need be concerned. It's all out of a different location, so this is where we will be."
Stems and Pettit's aren't sure what the future holds, but Mark Pettit is thankful for all the support.
"We're still downtown, you can call us and order cakes," he said. "We're thankful for all our customers. And like I said, we're blessed, God has a plan and he'll take care of us."
The damage is so severe that the building may have to be torn down and rebuilt. Pettit's Pastry plans to eventually return to the area of 120th and Blondo.
