“I’ve been shook up all day,” Hubbard told the Journal-News on Sunday. “We’ve been in business since 2012 and in this location going on five years in November.”
Hubbard said her husband, Scott, followed the coins and found the cash register in a dumpster behind a building on Market Street. Hamilton police are investigating the break-in and took the cash register to determine if there were any usable fingerprints, Hubbard said.
She said police were going to check security cameras in that area to identify the intruder.
Hamilton police officials could not be reached Monday.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
The incident forced Hubbard to close the bakery Sunday. Business has been tough this year, and it was closed from March 17 to July 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic, she said.
Friends, customers and other business owners came out to see how they could help, bringing their support and opening up their wallets.
Brad Baker, a friend of Hubbard’s, set up a GoFundMe account at www.tinyurl.com/helpalmondsisters that raised more than $6,300 in eight hours, tripling the initial goal of $2,000 and eventually reaching more than $7,300 by 3 p.m Monday.
In addition, Baker is hosting a fundraiser from 6 to 10 p.m. today at his new Pinball Garage business, 113 N. Third St., to help the bakery. The online invite had generated more than 500 responses by Monday afternoon.
“They probably were just super down about it (the vandalism), and I just wanted to hurry up and turn that around so they didn’t have much time to get too upset,” he said.
The fundraiser will feature Almond Sisters treats, door drinks, a DJ and the opportunity to win raffles for gift cards and gift baskets from at least 10 Hamilton businesses.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
The Facebook page for The Almond Sisters was full of comments expressing their support for the local business as well as their outrage against the break-in. Hubbard said she had people just walk in and make a donation to help out.
“That has been unreal about how popular this has become,” Jenni Hubbard said. “It’s blowing my mind.”
Scott Hubbard said the offers for help have come from other business owners, from customers and even people they do not know, with people offering to help do everything from sweep away glass and board up windows to make donations to help defray the costs of the damages and the lost business.
“It’s just very overwhelming, the support we got,” he said.
The plywood to cover the opening where the plate glass window was broken has already been painted with the message, “Broken but not destroyed.”
“The community is going to determine the outcome of this situation,” Jenni Hubbard said. “They’re speaking up loud and clear.”
Almond Sisters Bakery was planning to reopen at 7 a.m. today.
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