Upper Crust Baking Safe Outdoor Patio

April 30, 2023

Hi everyone,

As you may know, a car plowed through the front doors and windows and into the front of our Davis bakery yesterday. Four people were taken to the ER in an ambulance but by some stroke of luck, only suffered minor injuries. Everyone is extremely lucky—it could have been SO much worse.

Many of you have asked if you can make a donation to help us out. I hesitated creating this GoFundMe page because we expect to be compensated by the insurance companies for the damage to the bakery. That said, we have been in a difficult financial position for some time and could use all the help we can get.

So if you want to help us, help us build our patio.

Let me explain.

We have wanted to create a patio since 2019 but haven't been able to get it started for a variety of reasons. We were first derailed by the roller-coaster ride of the pandemic. We closed to the public during the lockdown and pivoted to local delivery. We then reopened slowly, only selling through the front door. In 2021 and 2022, the ever-increasing costs of doing business made it extremely difficult for us. The patio was put off again and again.

Today, we're still trying to figure out how to make ends meet. The new Winters location has helped a lot, and we also plan to start offering more lunch items and expand the café part of our business. So the patio is now, once again, an important part of our strategy to increase sales.

This accident underscored the need to build the patio as quickly as possible. Having the patio will significantly reduce the risk of an accident like this ever happening again—with a barrier of heavy concrete planters and by keeping humans away from the direct path of parking cars.

Our approved and permitted project is fairly simple: We'll take the four parking spaces directly in front of the bakery, remove the asphalt, install pavers, put concrete planters around the perimeter, and add chairs and tables. If you're interested, the full plan is here.

So here is my pitch: If you are particularly keen to give to our cause—rather than some other, more worthy cause—please donate to help us build this patio. I've set the GoFundMe goal to $1 because making this business successful is clearly not your responsibility, it's mine.

Whether you give or not, thank you.

Lorin

Update 05/01/23—

Some of you may be aware that a car plowed through the front of Upper Crust Baking yesterday. We were extremely lucky that no one was badly injured—a few inches to the left or to the right and it could have been SO much worse.

I’d like to thank everyone who has reached out to support us, vocally, emotionally, and financially through our GoFundMe. Huge thanks to Davis fire and police for their rapid and effective response. And thank you to our customers and community, for your continuing loyalty and patronage.

I’m most humbled by this comment from a supporter: “The bakery is a community wide asset here in Davis, and as such supporting it is a shared responsibility.”

As the bakery owner, I share this view. From my perspective, I believe that the bakery has a special role to play in the community. We provide a focal point, and a fundamental scaffold: good local food. This is our responsibility to you.

At this moment, as our community grapples with fear and loss, the drama at our bakery seems insignificant. But for me, the restating and renewal of these shared responsibilities is comforting. I hope it is for you, too.

Again, thank you. And be safe.