Antioch fudge, ice cream shop reopens after fire

There's some sweet news coming from downtown Antioch.

Closed for nearly a month after a fire in June, Something Sweet and Gourmet is open and oozing with plenty of homemade fudge. The staff at the candy, ice cream and fudge shop on Main Street has spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars recovering from the blaze.

On June 30, a smokey, smoldering fire burned in the basement for a couple of hours before it was discovered. Store manager Ashley Michel said customers were smelling something odd, and it wasn't the fudge.

"People were like, 'are you barbecuing something?'," Michal said. "We realized something was burning downstairs and called the fire department."

Earlier that day, plumbers were using blow torches while installing pipes for a new ice cream freezer. Michel said the crew had finished their work for the day and left not realizing they started a fire behind the walls.

Smoke caused heavy damage and forced the disposal of all the edible inventory, but it could have been far worse. "There were no injuries and the building was saved," Michal said. "The firefighters told us if we if hadn't discovered it for another hour, the whole building might have gone up flames."

Michal said they don't know the dollar amount for the repairs. The insurance companies are dealing with that now. The 10-year-old business is owned by Ashley Michel's mom, Michele Michel.

July is normally the shop's biggest sales month and the worst time to shut down. But, Michel says business is returning to normal. "We had so many offers of help," she said. "We have very loyal customers."