I Feel Very Sad: El Paisa Bakery Set On Fire!

Today I have some very bad news. As you may have heard, El Paisa Panaderia of Aurora was set on fire last night. El Paisa, if you don't already know, is my favorite Mexican bakery, or panaderia. So you can imagine that I was more than a little surprised to open my email this morning and find these words:

Jessie said...

Today unfortunately (03/03/2010)at around 1 a.m. a very bad accident happened to this bakery. I've been a customer for over 6 years because their 3 leches (3 milks) cake it is absolutely delicious!! The owner Jose Herrera is a very nice and great person! It seems that this was intentional fire. No one got hurt 2 people that was renting upstairs were taking to the hospital with minor injuries. This had nothing to do with the safety of bakery, apparently someone robbed the cash registered and after that turned the business on fire! (So sad!) I feel very sad!

I too am deeply saddened, for both Mr. Herrera and the people living above. Not to mention that the pan dulce (sweet bread) and the rest of their baked goods were among the best in town, and a personal favorite of mine. (In fact my profile image --the pig shaped cookie-- is a picture from this bakery.)

I admit that I was rather preoccupied with the image of El Paisa in ruins the rest of the day at work. It seemed so surreal that a potential arson took place in the bakery I frequent. When the clock struck five, I immediately set out for El Paisa to see it with my own eyes. Even driving down Colfax, where everything was business as usual, as I pulled up to Dallas St. (and the blue chair), in my mind I expected to see El Paisa standing as it always has. I imagined that I would even go in and get some pan dulce (that I really didn't need). Instead it was, of course, destroyed. 

The door was boarded up and the second floor was gutted. The intact blinds of a second floor window were eerily blowing in the breeze. A fence set up a barrier around the lot, and signs posted on the windows offered a $5,000 reward.  It looked as if the roof collapsed, and the blackened interior was absolutely dismal. The Denver Post is reporting that it was indeed arson, and Fox reports that the fire was "...so fierce, it forced the firefighters out." Fox even has a video on its site which includes an interview with the devastated owner. 

The sign survived and I hope that Mr. Herrera and his crew find a way to rebuild. It is a shame and, of course, if you happen to have any relevant information to share, both the Post and Fox sites have the numbers you should contact. Thanks for the alert, Jessie, and I agree, "I feel very sad!"