DEL VALLE, Texas — A Central Texas bakery was destroyed in a fire early Friday morning.
Officials say the incident happened just before 3 a.m. at Nacho's Bakery on Maldonado Drive, not far from FM 812.
Owners Ignacio Acuña and Crestena Aguilar say their family has been out on the scene since the early hours of the morning, trying to salvage anything from the flames.
“Everything is damaged,” Evelyn Acuña, the owners' daughter, said. “There’s nothing we could save."
Acuña said their bakery, which just opened a year ago, is everything to their family.
“It's always been my dad's dream, since he was like, a little boy. That's what he's been doing, and he decided to move down here to Texas and we started a business,” she said.
She said their menu has a little bit of everything on it.
“We do bread, obviously. We do pizzas, we do catering. We donate cakes, we donate bread, we donate anything we can,” she said.
Acuña said running a business has been difficult, but they’ve slowly developed loyal customers and clients who appreciate their food.
Like Amado Paz, a Del Valle resident who said he watched the bakery open its doors.
“At first, we didn't even notice it. But then we started getting bread from here, and then it became like, a daily thing," he said. "We would call them up – they would already recognize our voice."
The Acuna family said they were shocked to get a call at 3 a.m. from Bastrop County ESD No. 1, saying a fire had started in their building.
“They just woke up, came in whatever they had on,” Acuña said. “The thing [building] was basically devastated already.”
She said the family lost everything.
“We had actually just bought new machines for customers' orders. We were going to add a bigger menu. We're going to start making tacos as well,” Acuña said. “All our new machinery – everything is burnt. Everything is destroyed. This is what we live off of. This is literally all we have.”
Customers stepped up to help clean up what’s left of the family-owned bakery and pizza shop.
Paz was one of them.
“We're all family. I have my own small business too, so, I mean, we need to help each other out as much as we can,” he said.
Paz said he's seen the owners work hours, day in and day out, to build everything at their business.
“I mean, nobody deserves this happening to anybody. You know? It's a horrible thing. So, if the community can come together and help out, just a little bit, I mean, everything counts,” Paz said.
Acuña said her family's next step is to try to raise money through fundraising and raffles.
“We want to reopen ... That's the goal, hopefully,” she said.
Because the bakery still means everything to their family.
“We're just going to see what God gives for us. And, you know, just see God's plan,” she said.
The Acuña family said they also lost personal items, like clothing and TVs. They say they also did not have renter’s insurance.
The family said if anyone can donate clothing, machinery or just wants to reach out to help in any way, they can contact them through their Facebook page, Nacho's Bakery. The family also has a GoFundMe.
Bastrop County ESD No. 1, with help from Travis County ESD 11, responded to and contained the fire. It did not reach the businesses on either side of the bakery, and no injuries were reported. Officials are still investigating the cause.