Nothing Bundt Cakes in West Hartford is cleaning up after a sprinkler in the front of the store opened unexpectedly Saturday morning.
Franchise owner Traci Halky said two inches of water accumulated on the floor by the time the fire department turned off the sprinkler system.
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WATCH HERE“The refrigeration that's in the front of the bakery is completely destroyed," Halky said. "All of the walls have probably too much water damage to just repaint over. All of my retail items were just soaked with water and black soot."
Halky doesn’t know why the sprinkler went off when there wasn’t a fire or smoke. Halky estimates thousands of dollars in damage that will take weeks to repair.
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SIGN UP In the meantime, she said she was blown away by the support she's received.
“I'm thankful to the West Hartford Fire Department who came out and just helped us above and beyond anything that I ever anticipated or expected," she said. "They were in here with mops helping us clean up the water.”
The bakery was closed on Sunday as staff cleaned, and it reopened on Monday with a tent out front. The kitchen wasn’t damaged so they are still able to make cakes, but Halky said they can’t let any customers into the store.
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Customers still came by to offer words of support and to buy cakes.
“I actually came by yesterday, and when I saw the sign, I was disappointed for them," Shaunte Emery, a customer, said. "I'm like, 'I'm going to get a cake no matter what.'"
Halky was a lawyer for 20 years in Florida before she became the owner of Nothing Bundt Cakes. She said serving customers brings her joy, even after a mess like this.
“I'm really thankful for the community that we're in because the rallying of support around us started the minute the water started flowing," she said.
