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.