Fundraiser to help damaged bakery

SAN BENITO — Since 1939, La Especial Bakery has been making San Benito just a little bit sweeter.

Until now.

Last week, the 79-year-old bakery experienced a fire that created extensive damage to the back room and sent the owner and an officer, who rushed in to help, to the hospital.

Both the officer and the owner have since recovered.

A fundraiser will be held to help of the bakery collect funds to renovate and repair the damages.

Family and friends of the bakery will be selling barbecue lunch plates Friday.

Miguel Ornelas, son of the owner, said his family has been receiving an overwhelming amount of support from the community.

“Everyone has been asking what they can do and how they can help,” Ornelas said. “My phone has been ringing off the hook since Sunday.”

Ornelas doesn’t have a goal of how many plates he would like to sell but estimates they’ll sell 1,500 lunch plates or more later this week.

“It doesn’t matter how much or little they donate,” Ornelas said. “Whatever we can get to help us rebuild the bakery.”

Due to the holidays, Ornelas hasn’t been able to have someone estimate the extent of the damages but he was given the all-clear from the city to enter the building.

“We’re cleaning up and trying to make things look presentable,” Ornelas said.

According to Ornelas, La Especial Bakery started with his grandfather Enrique, who bought the place with coins and cash he had been saving in coffee cans because of his distrust of banks.

A brick oven was installed in 1938 and in 1939 the bakery was open.

Since then, La Especial has stayed within the family and is currently owned by Enrique Ornelas Jr., Ornelas’ father.

A GoFundMe account was also created to collect funds for the bakery and has since raise more than $1,000 of its $5,000 goal.

“We’re accepting any donations either money or stuff for the lunch plate,” Ornelas said.