A sweet comeback
Jeff Benson
It wasn’t just a French cupcake bakery, it was the French Cupcake
Bakery, owned and operated by Jerry and Dianne French for 28 years.
But a two-alarm structure fire Dec. 3 left the bakery and five
other East 17th Street businesses with extensive smoke and water
damage, and afterward, the Frenches didn’t know what to do with their
time.
“We usually work so hard, because we’re never home,” Dianne French
said. “It’s strange to be able to go to the [Newport Harbor
Christmas] Boat Parade when we’re supposed to be working.”
The other businesses in Mesa Center -- Regal Beauty Supply, Ritz
Nails, $3 Tan, Caliente Southwest Express Restaurant and Mesa Dental
Center -- are also still closed, said one of the center’s partners,
Kal Sarraf.
Owners of all six businesses plan to return once the construction
process is completed in late March or early April, he said. Sarraf
said he’ll likely choose a contractor by the end of January.
The Frenches are in limbo at the moment, but they know they want
to move back into the same spot. Investigators have already ruled out
arson or foul play, French said, but the lengthy insurance process is
taking its time.
Local residents had ordered dozens of wedding cakes from the
bakery, and the Frenches had to call each of them to break the bad
news. The challenge is in retaining their customers, some of whom
have shopped at the bakery for years, French said.
The couple suggested to their clientele that they try other
reputable bakeries and to make sure they get their orders on time,
she said.
The Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce extended a helping hand to
the bakery’s 20 employees over the holidays, giving them $100 each by
way of Palm Harvest Church in Costa Mesa.
“Our biggest concern was our employees being unemployed at
Christmastime,” French said. “Sometimes it’s hard for them to get a
job somewhere else on short notice. We were worried about that.”
* JEFF BENSON covers education and may be reached at (714)
966-4617 or by e-mail at jeff.benson@latimes.com.
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