Buttercloud Bakery and Cafe co-owner Kim Peat frosts a cake inside the barkery portion of the newly reopened downtown Medford eatery on Thursday. Buffy Pollock / Rogue Valley Times

Neighboring mattress business closed for good on Feb. 15 after old warehouse went up in flames

Buttercloud Bakery and Café reopened Wednesday some five and a half months after a raging warehouse fire caused extensive damage from firefighting efforts and prompted the closure of the downtown eatery.

The Jan. 9 fire started inside an old cinderblock warehouse building tucked between Medford Mattress, formerly at the corner of South Front Street and East 10th Street and Buttercloud.

The three-alarm blaze halted traffic and cut electrical and gas service to surrounding businesses, shuttered the nearby Medford library and Rogue Valley Transportation District bus station and drew more than 100 spectators.

The neighboring mattress business, run by Rod Broderson, permanently closed Feb. 15, just one month following the fire.

Broderson, who bought the business from a family member in 2003,  was inside his main store adjacent to the warehouse when passersby alerted him to the fire, which commanded a response by firefighters from multiple agencies including Medford Fire and crews from Jackson County fire districts 3 and 5.

Buttercloud co-owners Erik Johnson and Kelly Peat reopened Wednesday, announcing on social media Tuesday that customers could return for their favorite biscuits, coffee drinks and other goodies, declaring on the post, “Come hungry. Come early.”

General Manager Cole Brewer said Thursday that the restaurant lost most of its nearly 30 former employees, with just a handful able to endure the more than five-month closure to return.

With so many new employees, Brewer said they played reopening “by ear” and kept things low-key.

“We had hoped for mid-May, but we just kept plugging along. Then we were shooting for Monday, but we just kept finding things that would set us back — things to fix, things to clean. … We wanted to perfect it before we opened,” Brewer said.

“Wednesday ended up being the best day for us to just go for it, so we decided let’s just do it and hope for the best.”

Repairs due to the fire included replacing a section of the roof and part of the wall adjacent to the now-destroyed warehouse building. Brewer said the bakery area roof had caved in during the fire and the business had extensive damage from foam and from holes being cut in walls to access the warehouse fire.

Thursday customers were excited to get back inside, Brewer said, noting a run on sticky buns, scones and cake slices.

Peat said it was exciting to reopen and said she was grateful for firefighters who saved the building.

“Our building could have very easily burned down, too. That fire was so intense and that warehouse was full of mattresses,” she said.

“If that wall back there weren’t brick, we would have been gone.”

Peat said a nearly half-year closure gave the business time to add some menu items and make some changes during the repair and remodel phase, though reopening Wednesday was like coming home.

“It feels like we were never gone,” she said.

“Getting going again has been like riding a bike.”

Medford city officials said Wednesday that the cause of the January fire is still deemed “undetermined at this time.”

Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 458-488-2029 or buffy.pollock@rv-times.com. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.