Pilsen bakery Jordy Cakes given days to raise $25K to stall eviction

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Jordyn Gaines has nurtured her bakery, Jordy Cakes, for 10 years. Her popular creations reach a large clientele, including celebrities. But now she could lose her Pilsen storefront because of the pandemic.

"It's a really scary time because this is our livelihood," she said.

Gaines opened her first shop as a teenager in Country Club Hills. Over the years she adjusted her business model, focusing more on cake jars, and in 2019 she achieved her dream of opening a store in Chicago. She moved to a space in Pilsen on Canalport. Soon after, new landlords took over, relocated her and increased her rent.

"They moved me down to this area where-- and it's beautiful, my space. We built it out and added a coffee shop, my husband runs the coffee shop. But we were basically depending on the walking traffic from the other businesses around us," Gaines explained.

That traffic came to a halt with the pandemic. With the drop in income and the rise in rent, the relief from the PPP loan Gaines received didn't last long. She said she tried to pay what she could each week, but fell behind $25,000 in rent.

Earlier this month, her landlord gave her an ultimatum.

"They said you've got five days to pay $25,000 or we'll start the 30 day eviction process," Gaines recalled.

The deadline is the end of April. Gaines started a GoFundMe campaign to raise the money, desperate not to become another business that went under during the pandemic.

"In the pandemic, where everybody is caring about everybody right now, people are being way more considerate to everyone, all I ask for is a little more time," she said.