A devastating Thanksgiving Day fire at Jenny Lee Bakery's McKees Rocks factory wiped out the busy Christmas and New Year's sales rush.

	Pam Panchak, Post-Gazette Jenny Lee Bakery workers Greg Brown, of the North Side, and Ed Voytko, of Braddock, put a fresh coat of paint on equipment at the bakery's factory in McKees Rocks. Click photo for larger image.

But while the family-owned operation has not totally renovated its main plant, it expects to reopen April 2, the week before Easter.

"We don't want to miss another holiday. We don't want to keep our customers waiting," said Scott Baker, vice president of sales and marketing for the bakery, which has been supplying cinnamon breads and other treats for more than 130 years.

Jenny Lee will restart operations Wednesday at its plant on Island Avenue and expects to have the shelves stocked the following week at its retail stores in McKees Rocks and Market Square, Downtown.

A third retail outlet in the Crafton-Ingram Shopping Center will not reopen. "That was a very tough decision," said Mr. Baker. "Unfortunately, in our transitioning, we can't do proper justice to that store."

All four employees who worked at the Crafton store have been offered jobs elsewhere in the company. Of the 65 who worked at the business before the Nov. 23 fire, three have since died and several have moved or accepted other positions, leaving about 50 who will return to work, Mr. Baker said.

In addition to its retail stores, Jenny Lee sells its goods in local supermarket chains and independent markets.

For the reopening, the plant in McKees Rocks will produce strudels, cookies, doughnuts, cinnamon breads, rolls, pies and Paska, a traditional Eastern European Easter bread.

But longtime customers won't find Jenny Lee's popular Easter egg cakes this year because the staff hasn't yet located the pans used to make them, Mr. Baker said.

Also missing will be Jenny Lee's own candy confections, including peanut brittle and chocolate-covered pretzels. The fire started in the candy production area on the factory's second floor, and that area has not yet been renovated.

"We ignored that while trying to get the main production area ready," Mr. Baker said. Meantime, Jenny Lee has partnered with Wilson's Chocolates of Jeannette, Westmoreland County, to supply hand-dipped chocolate and Easter candy.

Damages from the fire, caused by faulty electrical wiring, totaled $2 million, Mr. Baker said.

Besides restoring the main plant and shop in McKees Rocks, the company has remodeled the Downtown store with new paint, new floors and a slightly new layout "to give it a fresh look," Mr. Baker said.

He hopes to attract former customers as well as some new ones.

"I'm confident we'll regain 95 percent. We're a habit business where people go during their daily routines," he said. "I'm sure we may have lost some who found a closer cup of coffee on their way to work. But with our reputation and quality, we will win back most."