Bakery Lahaina: Employee Support

Bakery Lahaina is a small business with a long history in Maui. The small team of employees has been creating fresh baked goods with love for the Maui community for decades. Our team is small but mighty…and unfortunately, the entire team has experienced significant loss from the wildfires that swept through the town of Lahaina. Most of the community and many of the employees at Bakery Lahaina have lost absolutely everything…their homes, clothing, personal items, and everything they own. Our team is highly skilled and passionate, but bakery work is hourly wage employment and most of them have no savings. Many have been left without the fundamental necessities for life, including, but not limited to food, water, and shelter.

Luckily we have been in touch with all of our team except one, and they are physically safe at this point, but not without significant trauma from the ordeal. We are working to get in touch with the final teammate. We are extremely anxious to be able to connect with our team again and help them in whatever way they need.

We are unsure when, or even if, our bakery will be able to open. We are also currently consumed with finding basic needs: shelter, food, security and replacing clothing etc. We have loved our community and the visitors who come through Maui and enjoy our hospitality, and hope that our friends and patrons can help us take care of our team as they work to get back on their feet.

The donations we receive will be distributed to the employees of Bakery Lahaina and their Ohana, with any surplus used to feed the community in the coming months while Lahaina goes through the long process of rebuilding. Mahalo for each and every dollar that you are willing to share with our team.

We will provide updates on the health and well-being of our team as we are able to.

Note: Shelley Ramsey and Nikki Bonifer are managing this fundraiser on behalf of Chef Charlie Owen (they are Charlie's sisters, based in Kentucky). Charlie and Jen Owen bought Bakery Lahaina several years ago, were trained by Jean-Louis and have been carrying forward the French bakery traditions he was known for. Charlie is originally from Kentucky…he and Jen and their families have also had significant loss and so while they are managing the work in Lahaina, We are taking care of establishing and managing the fundraiser on his behalf. If you have any questions about this, please reach out and we will answer questions promptly.