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Beloved Wyandotte bakery seeks community help to reopen
A Wyandotte bakery that was forced to close after a driver crashed through the entrance is crowdfunding for money to rebuild. That's because the original contractor they hired ran off with the money that would have helped reopen the shop.
(FOX 2) - A Wyandotte bakery that was forced to shut down before getting ripped off by a contractor is looking for community help.
Vinewood Mexican Bakery in Metro Detroit is known for its cherished comfort food like tamales and empanadas. However, it's been years since they've gotten to share their treats with the community.
The backstory:
In 2023, a vehicle crashed through the facade of the Mexican bakery, forcing the shop to close.
It also disrupted the lives of the family behind the business.
"It’s a big part of us too," said Lizeth Garcia. "We lived right upstairs so when the person who hit the bakery — it was tragic. We had to move out."
The driver had lost control and rammed through the entrance.
"It was more devastating having to go through all the ingredients and the stuff we had already bought and throwing away eggs, milk, meat," Garcia said.
The family tried to reopen, but they said they were ripped off by a contractor who ran off with the insurance money.
It should have paid for the rebuild. Instead they were ghosted.
"Unfortunately the person who we ended up paying to do the repairs took the money never finished the repairs," she said. "It’s getting to the point where he’s not picking up the phone, not answering text messages, and we’re just stuck here trying to finish the job."
Local perspective:
The family has since tried to fund the repairs themselves. However, expenses are piling up and a full remodel is now unaffordable for them.
They considered closing the business, but popular demand presented them with another option: fundraise to reopen.
"We were going to sell, but then we started seeing people messaging us ‘when are you going to open’ ‘I miss your tamales,’ ‘I miss your bread’ when are you going to open. So my mom and dad both said ‘we can’t do this. Let’s open. They want us here,’" said Garcia.
The Source: An interview with an employee of the bakery was cited for this story.