Customers who placed orders with an upscale Lakeview cake shop will be personally contacted by the proprietors, and many of them will have their orders refunded, after a fire completely destroyed the storefront early Monday.
Brenda and Mary Maher said they have about 500 outstanding orders. The 20 or so customers with orders slated for delivery this weekend will be reimbursed, they said.
The Maher's own Cakegirls, a nationally known brand that has made baked goods for Bono, Queen Latifah and Pete Wentz, among others. The bakery has won the Food Network Challenge three times and their cakes can go for as much as $900.
Fire swept through the building, at 2207 W. Belmont Ave., destroying all of their equipment, about $10,000 worth of the baking ingredients and three apartment units above their store. The women, as well as the building's owner, had insurance.
Other bakeries around Chicago have offered help, the Mahers said, but there's been no decision about their next move.
The girls say they've been inundated with calls and e-mail messages with offers of help and with questions about deposits. They're asking for patience.
"We lost everything in this fire," Mary Maher said.
