Fire Breaks Out in Tonya's Café & Bakeshop; Business Closed for 'Foreseeable Future'

An overnight fire at Tonya’s Café & Bakeshop in Chapel Hill caused enough interior damage to indefinitely close the business.

Owner Tonya Council confirmed to Chapelboro that a fire broke out in the early morning hours of Saturday with Chapel Hill Fire responding to the scene. No injuries were reported and the fire was contained to the interior of the spaces, which are conjoined. But damage from the fire, smoke and water that spilled in the space will lead to both the restaurant and bakery being closed “for the foreseeable future.”

“We plan to rebuild but for now are focused on retaining our staff and honoring our catering, bakery, and other commitments to our customers,” a statement on Tonya’s Café’s website said on Saturday. “The reality is we have no idea how long the process of rebuilding will take so are planning to launch a [fundraising campaign] to help us through this difficult time.”

On Sunday, the Council family launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $50,000 to help cover the staff of Tonya’s Café & Bakeshop as the business begins its repairs. Tonya’s mother, Spring Council, wrote in the fundraiser’s description that the goal is to help employees not miss a single paycheck.

“Right now, our main priority is making sure her workers can pay their rent, buy groceries, and care for their families while the bakery café is closed,” reads the campaign. “We want to keep them supported through this entire closure so they don’t have to walk away and are ready the day the doors reopen.”

Caution tape surrounds the entrance to Tonya’s Café and Bakeshop at Galleria on Saturday, September 19. (Photo via Tonya’s Café & Bakeshop.)

The business, located at 400 South Elliott Road as part of the Galleria shopping center, opened first as a brick-and-mortar location for Tonya’s Cookies in 2023. Council — one of the granddaughters of Mildred “Mama Dip” Council — started the venture by pairing her passion for baking sweet goods with her family’s business acumen, beginning with the desert case in Mama Dip’s Kitchen in Chapel Hill before taking online orders. After acquiring the neighboring unit to the bakeshop, she opened Tonya’s Café in March 2025 to bring her vision of having a restaurant and shop of North Carolina goods. The café is known for offering southern home-cooking meals, many of which are inspired by or an homage to her grandmother’s recipes.

Featured photo by Brighon McConnell/Chapel Hill Media Group.

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Fire Breaks Out in Tonya’s Café & Bakeshop; Business Closed for ‘Foreseeable Future’

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