A fire has damaged the production facility of a Quebec bakery owned by Super Bowl champion Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.
The former Kansas City Chiefs star, who retired from the NFL two years ago, shared the news on Instagram Sunday night.
“Today is not a very happy day for Pain dans les Voiles,” Duvernay-Tardif said. “Our pastry production facility, which was making croissants for the whole group, went up in flames. Nobody was injured, so that’s the good news. But it’s a big blow to us, our teams. We’re going to roll up our sleeves, and we’ll find solutions.
“Thank you to all the firefighters. I think there were more than a hundred today fighting the flames. If it hadn’t been for you, maybe (we would have lost everything). So, thank you and we’ll find solutions,’ Duvernay-Tardif concluded.
The actual bakeries – with locations in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Montreal, Blainville and Saint-Bruno – remained open Monday.
Duvernay-Tardif’s parents opened the first Le Pain dans les Voiles in 2009. The retired NFL champion took over the business in 2021.
After winning the Super Bowl with Kansas City, Duvernay-Tardif opted out of the next season to work at a Quebec long-term care facility during the height of COVID-19’s first wave.
The 34-year-old from Mont-Saint-Hilaire balanced medical school with being an offensive lineman with the Chiefs before graduating from McGill’s Faculty of Medicine in May 2018 with a Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Master of Surgery.
He spent six seasons with Kansas City (2014-19) before finishing his career with the New York Jets (2021-22).
–With files from The Canadian Press