Residents in Belmont, Massachusetts, are hoping to save a popular bakery that was severely damage after a small explosion in an oven back in March.
Owner Paul Klemm had turned on the gas in his oven at Ohlin's Bakery on Common Street and stepped behind a 400-pound stack of trays. The oven exploded moments later but the trays fortunately shielded him and one of his employees from harm.
"I was quite shocked because I was so close to the oven and I could feel all that heat and energy all around me," Klemm recalls.
A Belmont institution for more than a hundred years, Klemm and his family have owned the bakery since 1951. He and his wife, Marybeth, have vowed to reopen this winter but it's been proving to be difficult since their insurance and the landlord's won't cover all the costs.
Now loyal customers and past employees have stepped in to help raise funds to get the bakery back on its feet.
Jacqueline Davis worked at Ohlin's as a teenager and created a Go Fund Me page.
"I knew as soon as I got it out there, people would rally around it," said Davis.
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So far, more than $20,000 has been raised from customers who have left messages on the fundraising page saying how much they miss the award-winning donuts.
"My favorite one thus far is someone who donated a dollar for every day they couldn't come get a donut," said Davis.
The Klemm's say they are grateful for the community's support and hope that everything works out. It's estimated that reopening will cost at least a half million dollars.
"It really make us feel like people care and it makes us happy that they want us to come back," said Marybeth Klemm.
