AUSTIN, Texas — Texas French Bread is turning its ovens back on after a January fire destroyed its building. But the business will operate in a different way for now.
Texas French Bread announced on Tuesday that it has recently leased commissary space in northeast Austin and it is in the process of setting up a commercial kitchen and bakery. Texas French Bread said in the coming weeks it will relaunch its wholesale bakery operations. Once everything is up and running in the new space, the business plans to reestablish booths at several local farmers markets with home delivery options in conjunction with Farmhouse Delivery.
According to KVUE's media partners at Austin360, owner Murph Willcott said he has not nailed down the specifics of which farmers markets the business will have a presence at, but he hopes to be back up and selling to the public by the end of June.
Once available to the public, Austin360 reports that the Texas French Bread menu will include some of the bakery’s classics.
"Customers can likely expect several cookies, a combination of breads (baguettes, artisan breads and sandwich loaves) and a wide selection of pastries," according to Austin360.
PHOTOS: Fire at Texas French Bread Bakery
The bakery's building, which was located on Rio Grande Street near the University of Texas at Austin campus, was declared a total loss after a fire ripped through it in January. The building later partially collapsed in March, hurting a construction worker.
The cause of the fire was deemed to be accidental and due to a mechanical failure.
After the January fire, Austin residents took to social media to share what the building and the bakery meant to them. KVUE spoke to a long-time customer who said the bakery was "not just a restaurant." Austin bakers also came together in early February to raise money for Texas French Bread.
In its announcement on Instagram Tuesday, Texas French Bread expressed gratitude to the community for its support, saying that a "stunning number of individuals and many, many local businesses" contributed "truly jaw-dropping amounts of money."
"We are so grateful to be part of this Austin community," the business wrote. "Throughout this process we have felt lifted up and reassured knowing that we are not going through this alone. Your generosity allowed us precious time to process and grieve. And the donations financed severance pay and extended health insurance coverage for TFB staff in the weeks after the fire. We truly cannot thank you enough for your generosity and support."
Texas French Bread is celebrating 40 years of business this year. Before the building on Rio Grande was a bakery, it was the famous Rome Inn, a music venue in the 1970s where artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Lou Ann Barton played.
As for whether Texas French Bread will eventually return to that building, the future is unclear. Willcott told Austin360 that a few new wood beams have gone up at the building in recent weeks, but that isn't an indication of an imminent return.
He said he has employed an architect and structural engineers to see if they can get to a stage where a proper assessment could determine what it would take to bring Texas French Bread back to the location it occupied for more than 30 years.
Britny Eubank on social media: Twitter
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: