Motti Sorek was living his dream of running a North York bakery renowned for turning out some of the tastiest bagels in the city.

But on Sunday, that dream was shattered when his store, Haymishe Bagel Shop, was devoured by a three-alarm fire that caused around $500,000 in damages, according to Toronto Fire.

“It’s not easy,” said the 64-year-old owner of the store at 3031 Bathurst St. “It’s been my life’s work for 30 years.”

The blaze, which began around 10:13 a.m., originated in the basement and quickly spread to the first floor, causing a part of the wooden floors to collapse, Capt. Mike Strapko said.

Sorek just returned home from his daily routine of preparing tomorrow’s bagels at 4:30 a.m. when he heard the devastating news.

“I’m speechless, I left home thinking it’s just a normal day . . . but I was wrong,” he said.

Seventeen fire trucks and 65 firefighters were on scene during the height of the fire. It took four hours to extinguish the bulk of the blaze, which was originally classified as a two-alarm fire, and prevent it from spreading to neighbouring shops.

Strapko said it’s too early to determine the cause of the fire.

Originally established in 1967, Sorek and his wife Bracha bought the shop from a Holocaust survivor and, with the help of recipes orally passed down from his grandmothers in Poland, turned it into an institution in the predominantly Jewish area of Bathurst St. and Lawrence Ave. W.

Distraught over the shop’s sudden demise, patrons went to social media to express their thoughts.

“A part of my childhood burnt down along with Haymishe Bagel,” said 16-year-old old Cahal McCabe, who’s been buying rye bread from the shop since he was 5.

As much as he loves Haymishe’s gluten-free sweets and chocolate babkas, Chris Wakelin, 36, said he’ll miss the staff the most.

“Bracha would always call me by my first name and give me an extra loaf of bread when I visit,” said Wakelin, who used to rent a Zipcar and take a special monthly trek from his Jarvis St. and Wellesley St to the North York shop.

Four employees were present in the shop when the fire broke. They were evacuated along with people from nearby businesses and residences.

Six people were assessed by Toronto Emergency Medical Services personnel, who determined they were uninjured.

The fire at Haymishe Bagel Shop wasn’t a first in this strip mall. About six years ago, Perl’s Meat and Delicatessen, the city’s first supplier of ready-made kosher, was gutted by a $2 million four-alarm fine.

Wakelin hopes that, like Perl’s, the bakery “rebuilds and doesn’t go out of business.”

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But for Sorek, the future is uncertain.

“I’m 64 years old, I’m not the youngest anymore,” he said “This is the thing that goes in my mind the whole time: What am I going to do?”