Flash Flood Traps 4 Men In A Bakery – When The Doors Finally Open 2 Days Later…Wow

We know that when disaster looms, people immediately head to the store to stock up on food.

The main things on the list, according to researchers, are bread, milk, eggs and toilet paper (though WalMart says for some reason the strawberry Pop Tarts quickly disappear after a disaster warning).

That theory held true for Houston’s El Bolillo Bakery last week as customers flocked to each of the bakery’s locations to stock up in case they got stranded in their homes.

Lines stretched out the door and down the street as people waited patiently for a few loaves of their favorite comfort food to tide them over ’til they could come back for their next fix when the storm was over.

The crew at El Bolillo worked around the clock all week to try to keep up with the demand.

Still, when Friday night’s quitting time rolled around, hours before Harvey showed up, the shelves were completely empty.

El Bolillo owner, Kirk Michaelis, told his employees to go home and take care of their families. They locked down the empty stores and left to go prepare for the storm.

Saturday night, thinking the worst was over, several of the bakers called and asked Michaelis if they could go in and work to be ready to reopen on Sunday.

He gave them the green light and they headed to the southeast location of El Bolillo.

They started baking and then noticed how quickly the weather was changing. It started raining incredibly hard and before they knew it they were stranded with no way out of the rising water.

No water was actually coming into the bakery yet, so instead of panicking over their situation the bakers did what they do best.

They baked.

They didn’t wring their hands and worry; they kneaded dough and baked. And baked. And baked.

For 48 hours they worked steadily as the rain kept falling and the water kept rising. The shelves filled up. The display cases filled up. And still they baked.

They used up 4,400 pounds of flour; that’s almost 92 pounds of flour every hour around the clock. No one counted exactly how many thousands of loaves of bread the man baked, but the sheer amount of bread was staggering.

Besides the regular and pan dulce breads, they had also filled numerous stands with the store’s signature bolillo bread, a torpedo-shaped loaf similar to a french baguette.

And still they baked. When Michaelis could finally make it to the store to rescue the guys 48 hours later, he was stunned when he opened up the door and saw what the men had done.

He realized that many of their neighbors and customers couldn’t make it to the bakery. So, Michaelis and the seven tired but satisfied bakers bagged up all the bread that would fit in his Jeep.

He then delivered it free of charge to first responders, police officers, nursing homes and local shelters.

Their hard work didn’t go unnoticed. Some of the recipients of the bread Tweeted and posted on Facebook about the generosity of Michaelis and the dedication of his staff.

Before long accolades were pouring in, along with donations to repay Michaelis for the supplies the men had used to bake the bread.

Michaelis thanked everyone publicly for their donations but said it won’t be going into his pocket. It will be going to the men that gave so much of themselves to help their community.

“This goes to our employees who lost cars, homes, and valuables to help rebuild their lives,” he wrote. “They have continued to work to get bread to people in need during Hurricane Harvey.”

The stores reopened on Tuesday with a full staff, minus twelve employees that were still unable to leave their homes.

The kitchen has hummed with life as the men once again are working around the clock to keep the city of Houston fed.

Locals have lined up around the corner once again to support the bakery as it continues to churn out bread for victims and first responders of Harvey.

Michaelis finds it difficult to describe the outpouring he’s received from the Houston community.

“There’s so many people doing so much more than we are,” he said. 

“It’s hard to put into words because we’re not doing it to publicize. We’re just doing it to try to be positive and help.“

Actions speak far louder than words. And the actions of seven men whose talent wasn’t one you’d usually expect to be necessary in the middle of a flood proved that when life gives you lemons, well, you make lemonade.

And when Harvey gives you water…you bake bread. Lots and lots and lots of bread.

Source: Liftable