Mon Petit Cheri Rebuild Campaign
Hello friends!
As you may have heard, on March 3rd at 2am a stolen vehicle crashed into the side of our bakery. The car destroyed the main wall in our front of house area by all of our coffee equipment. It also knocked a sink off of the wall and broke a water line, so there was significant damage to our flooring in the dining room as well as loss of food product and materials in the basement where the water was running for an hour before the firemen were able to climb inside and shut off the water main. We also have a fridge to replace, one of our bakery cases is cracked all the way through, coffee airpots and many of our mugs and plates were broken once the impact of the car hit our building.
When I received the phone call at 3am from the Minneapolis Police Department, my heart sunk. I walked up to the building to find a massive hole in the side, our patio area destroyed, the ramp that my father had worked hours to complete mangled, all of our equipment pushed to the other side of the dining room, plates and mugs and coffee strewn along the floor...
Walls can be rebuilt, equipment can be replaced, but what's most important to me is making sure that my staff can be taken care of and don't have to find work elsewhere, and that we don't lose customers in the process. It has been heartbreaking being here during the rebuild process everyday and having to turn customers away at the door. We have been closed now for close to two weeks dealing with the landlord, insurance agents, contractors, building inspectors and the health department. There are a lot of moving parts that have to come together to get us back up and rolling!
Here at Mon Petit Cheri, it has always been my goal from the very beginning to provide a safe and welcoming atmosphere for all of our customers as well as our staff. We take pride in making all of our pastries and food from scratch, and we have really strived to be that neighborhood bakery that becomes like a second home to our customers. We love being a part of the Seward neighborhood in Minneapolis, and look forward to being here as long as we can be. However, this accident has taken a serious toll on our business and even after insurance coverage goes through, unfortunately we will still have taken a substantial hit financially.
We have had many gracious friends, customers, and people from the Seward community reach out to us and ask how to help. What would be most helpful for all of us here at MPC is a donation of any amount to help us get back on our feet again. Donations will be directly used to repurchase food product, compensate our staff for lost wages, help with our insurance deductible as well lost revenue and any holes along the way that were not covered by our insurance.
It means the world to us to have such a supportive community of people surrounding us, and we cannot wait to be able to serve you again. With your help, we hope to be up and running as soon as possible. All information and updates will be posted on our social media sites.
Mon Petit Cheri Facebook Page
Again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Emily Rheingans, Owner
& all of the staff at MPC