Many shops in the Victoria Park and Mission areas were blown out by flood waters at the end of June last year and owners have been rebuilding ever since to reopen their businesses.
Manuel Latruwe owns a European pasty and bread shop on 13 Avenue and 1 Street S.E. and has been working with crews for months to clean up the mess and repair damages.
“We didn’t have a high water level in the building but it was sitting inside the building for a couple of days so that was enough time for the fridges and proofer box to soak up the water into those insulated panels and that is what caused the damage to those pieces of equipment,” said Latruwe.
Technicians are finally installing the last few pieces of equipment at the Belgian Patisserie & Bread Shop and one is so sophisticated that Latruwe had to get it custom made and flown in from Europe.
He says it is one of his most important pieces and is the key to creating his famous loafs.
"It's a retard proofer. So we put the bread in it in the morning for baking the next day so we give it a slow fermentation process which gives the bread a better flavour," said Latruwe.
The proofer or bread sauna is a pricey piece and costs about $85,000.
The machine is rare and there are only four or five of the units in Canada so Latruwe also had to bring in a crew to install it.
Coolers and other specialized equipment were also damaged in the floods and Latruwe estimates it will cost close to $500,000 to replace everything.
Latruwe has been in business for 15 years and hopes to have his shop open again by the end of the week.
(With files from Kathy Le)
