The outpouring of support the Manitowoc community has shown Luisa and Austin Rehrauer, the owners of Hartman’s Bakery, is nothing short of heartwarming.
The couple who has owned the iconic bakery since 2019 spoke with WOMT News and voiced their appreciation for everyone that has reached out.
Austin said the support has been overwhelming.
“We are just extremely grateful for all the support we have gotten from the community,” he said. “Local businesses, the firefighters who responded that night, our insurance company (State Farm) has been incredibly timely.”
Speaking of insurance, while the total cost of the damage is not known, Austin said he believes State Farm will cover a lot of the physical damage, but they won’t pay their employees.
That is why the Rehrauers have started a GoFundMe page. That way their workers won’t be left out in the rain so to speak.
“A lot of them this is their only job,” Austin explained. “We have everything from people who, this is their job, to people who are in college…and people who are in high school. We want all these people to know that this not only impacts us, it impacts our employees because they are who make this place what it is.”
In the first 24 hours of being up, the community donated over $3,000.
A good portion of that actually came from a fellow bakery in Manitowoc, Bakery on State who donated $1,000.
Because the Manitowoc location is responsible for baking all of the products for the rest of the stores, Austin said they will also remain closed for the foreseeable future.
He explained there is just too much to make to do it anywhere else.
