Mother’s Day is the busiest day of the year for any bakery, apart from maybe Christmas.
But just 90 minutes before Ismael De Sousa opened Reunion Bread for business on Sunday, May 14, his bread oven exploded, sparking a large fire inside the bakery at The Source Hotel + Market Hall.
“Thank God no one got injured because it was massive,” De Sousa said. “The bread oven takes up three-quarters of the bakery, but no one was near the oven at the exact moment when it blew up and caught on fire.”
The Denver Fire Department arrived on the scene, as well as a line of shocked customers, but the fire, which De Sousa guessed was caused by a gas leak in the oven, was already out, so DFD helped fan out the remaining smoke.
De Sousa’s team was able to use the ovens at Bellota restaurant next door to save Mother’s Day, but many problems remained.
“It was still a big profit loss because we could only make bread out of that specific oven, and we could only make half of what we sell, like croissants, cookies and pastries,” De Sousa said. “We were running back and forth from the bakery to Bellota for six hours.”
For now, the 2023 James Beard Award semifinalist has temporarily closed the bakery at 3350 Brighton Blvd., but he hopes to reopen this weekend serving Portuguese and Venezuelan pastries, croissants and cookies baked in small convection ovens.
“I have to replace the bread oven, so we’re going to lose our bread business for a while,” De Sousa said. “That type of equipment in the U.S. is a lot of money, but it’s also four months out before I can order one, which will be an interesting few months.”
De Sousa hopes insurance will cover the cost of the bread oven rather than dipping into his own pockets. He wants customers to know that until the equipment is back and up running, the bakery’s product and quality might not be the exact same, since the oven is a crucial part of the baking process.
“When you come in, and there’s no bread, don’t get mad, just understand that something difficult has happened,” De Sousa said. “If you want to help, come buy a croissant or cup of coffee in the meantime.”
On May 19, loyal Reunion Bread customers started a GoFundMe campaign for the bakery, and as of Tuesday morning, they’ve raised $14,244 of the $100,000 goal.
“I met Ismael about five years ago when he was just starting his business while serving his famous sticky buns at the Cherry Creek Farmers Market,” said Andy Bjerkhoel, a Reunion customer and one of the GoFundMe organizers. “We have never turned back as he is the best pastry chef in town and I believe the Reunion Bread customers would like to help where they can to help save this business and his staff.”
