Employees at Bainbridge Bakers have started raising money online to help support the longtime Winslow bakery, which they say is necessary to keep the business open and pay employees.
Ben Goldsmith, a bakery employee, set up a GoFundMe account Monday evening, and said $100,000 is needed to save the business.
Goldsmith said he has been a staff manager at Bainbridge Bakery since September.
In the initial appeal for financial support, Goldsmith said the business had major financial problems that was mostly due to “massive theft.”
“Due to a myriad of issues — mainly, a serious amount of money stolen over a long period of time — we have a serious cash flow problem. We’re making enough day to day to keep the lights on and keep product moving, but the pressure to meet payroll is building,” the online appeal said.
Goldsmith said the situation was “dire.”
“You read that right. Your friendly baristas, bakers and chefs have really been struggling to do their best and serve the community, but we’ve all been stretched pretty thin lately. And it’s starting to take a toll. We can’t go on like this.
“So, here’s a pretty unprofessional last resort. We’ve been overjoyed to serve the community all these years, and with great humility we ask for the community to serve us. Your contribution isn’t going to some investor, tax collector, or freaking Comcast. It’s going directly to alleviate the current payroll problem. Instantly. Debt gone. We’ll be able to reposition, keep all your favorite baristas there, and continue on.”
Goldsmith also noted that money raised would be used to keep open the bakery’s flagship location on Winslow Green.
The bakery’s new store, at Island Gateway near the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, has been temporarily closed, he said in an update on the GoFundMe appeal, “after not meeting projections for its business model.”
“Bainbridge Bakers is a thriving institution, but our second location failed. It was closed slightly after it was too late for it not to affect the first location. We’ve since developed a specific plan to restructure the Island Gateway location to be a thriving and profitable food and beverage operation, but getting our flagship location in order is our priority, and that’s what this campaign is for,” the online appeal noted.
Goldsmith wrote than any funds raised would be used to pay employees, and he added that staffing has already been cut by half.
“This money is also not going into anyone’s pockets other than the employees who have been working to keep Bainbridge Bakers open. And it’s a lot of people — at our highest, we had 60 people on payroll, working around the clock. We’re still reeling from the stress of dealing with that employment.”
It was not immediately clear the type of theft that has left the business reeling. Bainbridge police said there have been no significant reports of theft from the business that have been filed with the department, although a report on a theft totaling $159 was made in January.
The GoFundMe campaign has received 61 donations and raised $4,890 by Tuesday afternoon.
The online appeal can be read at http://www.gofundme.com/ruqzkk. The bakery has also posted a link on its Facebook page.
