South Philadelphia bakery temporarily closes its doors after old-world oven breaks

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- An iconic South Philadelphia bakery is dealing with a major issue, forcing the owner to temporarily close his doors as he deals with an oven emergency.

The oven inside Faragalli's Bakery is badly damaged, and now the owner is trying to find a way to fix it.

Owner Phillip Faragalli, 72, wants to reopen but he says he's feeling pretty hopeless right now.

Opening up these doors every day to make bread from scratch has been his passion and now he doesn't have the oven to bake it.

"Depressed. I've been doing it all my life," Faragalli said.

The family business has been a staple in the community for 75 years. But the bread shop has suddenly closed its doors.

"I can't make no more bread in there. I just can't do it," said Faragalli.

Faragalli says crews from the city have been working outside the bakery on the 1400 block of South 13th Street since December. In mid-February, he says he felt the whole building shake from one of their powerful tools.

"I open up the door to light the oven and it was filled with bricks. I mean boulders that came down from above," said Faragalli.

He hasn't been able to get the old-world oven working again to make his bread from scratch. He had to close the bakery the Saturday before Easter and hasn't reopened since.

"That's when everything really went bad. I just couldn't do it anymore, I couldn't breathe," said Faragalli.

He says he's called around but not many people want to work on the oven, and the estimates he is getting are pricy.

"It's a nightmare. I mean, I understand they got jobs to do but the machinery they use is so big and powerful," said Faragalli.

Neighbors say their meals haven't been the same since.

"I'm missing the bread, that's right, the pasta's not the same without the bread," said Gary Cammisa, of South Philadelphia, adding, "For sure I'm hoping that it reopens."

Action News has reached out to both the city and water department but has not heard back. Faragailli says he has six months to file a claim and plans to do so soon.