Lawrence bakery destroyed in fire gets new temporary location as owner vows to rebuild
LAWRENCE - A popular bakery in Lawrence that was destroyed in a fire last week has a new temporary location, thanks to the community.
Sweet Grace Heavenly Cakes on Essex Street was torn down after the fire March 17. All that's left was their delivery van.
Owner Danerys Mazara started the business in her home kitchen after she and her husband lost their jobs in the recession of 2008. Mazara opened up her bakery seven years ago and named it after her daughter.
Local officials are determined to save it, offering Mazara space in the Revolving Test Kitchen on Common Street. It's normally an incubator for culinary startups, but now it's a temporary lifeline for the bakery to stay afloat.
"We are very grateful with the city because they find us that place to start," Mazara said. "Amazing, amazing. The support we are receiving from them is great."
"She worked every day inspiring other women to be entrepreneurs to open businesses, to believe in themselves," said State Rep. Francisco Paulino.
But space alone isn't enough. A group of local leaders is also working to help finance and secure the special ovens, mixers, and other equipment the bakery needs to make dozens of cakes daily.
There's also an online fundraising effort for her 19 employees all going without a paycheck.
"That's what we do in Lawrence. We are a small city with people with big hearts," Paulino said.
Mazara believes she'll eventually have a bustling storefront again, sooner rather than later.
"We did it one time, we're going to do it again, and we're going to make it make it better," she told WBZ-TV.
Mazara did have some insurance coverage, but she estimates it will take about $60,000 to replace her equipment.
The cause of the fire, which started in the liquor store next door, is still not known.
