We're still collecting donations
On the 10th November 2024 we'd raised £4,002 with 94 supporters in 28 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
We have an opportunity to open a Pinkmans in Stokes Croft, 1 year on from the horrific fire that saw us lose everything! We need your help!
by Ross Gibbens in Bristol, Bristol City, United Kingdom
On the 10th November 2024 we'd raised £4,002 with 94 supporters in 28 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
Introduction
Pinkmans has been one of Bristol's most loved bakeries, serving the city since 2015.
Famed for our legendary sourdoughnuts, fresh focaccia sandwiches and hand crafted Viennoiseries, we pride ourselves on small batch baking, using natural wild yeast as the base for our goodies.
We are a small, independent business with a dedicated team of talented bakers, brilliant baristas with smiley service, that aims to bring some joy to the neighbourhoods of Bristol. We have been blessed to have collected numerous awards over the years, including being named as one of the ‘Sunday Times Top 25 Bakeries in the UK’ and having recently shared our kitchen with the wonderful Andi Oliver for her incredible series ‘Andi Oliver's Fabulous Feasts’ on the BBC.
Following a potentially business-ending catastrophe, we are seeking to raise £20,000 to help realise our dream of opening a new Pinkmans cafe just over one year on from the fire.
We are selling a selection of special rewards that have been created by ourselves and some of our amazing friends, all of whom are also Bristol based and owned independents, like ourselves.
The Fire
On the morning of Friday 28th June 2023, at 4:00am, our head baker Pete walked in for his first day back after a rather fabulous time at Glastonbury. Ready to get stuck into a day of producing delicious treats for the regulars of our beautiful Park Street bakery. Instead he was met by a glow of orange and a cloud of smoke on the staircase leading to his production space.
Within moments of sounding the alarm, 8 fire engines and several crews were on site to start the process of putting out the now raging flames rising from our beloved home.
Thousands of gallons of water later, and after hours of incredibly hard work from the teams of Avon Fire and Rescues Service, the flames were out, both literally and emotionally for our passionate team at Pinkmans.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-66039018
Aftermath
Like so many businesses that have been in our situation, we presumed we would be covered for all eventualities, but we were horribly wrong, and received nothing from our insurance provider.
We now found ourselves in the position of being without a bakery, no equipment to produce with, no restaurant to trade from and a team of loyal, hardworking staff who were wondering what the future held for Pinkmans and themselves.
We thought that Pinkmans journey had come to an end after 8 years of joy….. but then our phones started to ring.
News had started to spread around the city of the situation, and what followed will forever be ingrained into the DNA of Pinkmans. In a show of what can be achieved when you are surrounded by a community of hardworking and loving people, who stand up and come to your aid in times of need, the offers of support and help came in their droves.
From offers of pop ups, supply, work for staff, and all round support; we were made to feel that Bristol love firsthand and the first shoots of hope began to flourish.
But it was an offer from the incredible Anna, of Anna Cake Couture, to share a section of their production space that catapulted our ability to start producing again and trading. Bristol 24/7
The brilliant Lewis at ‘Oven Services’ got hold of some pre-loved equipment to help us get mixing and baking again. James from ‘Devlin Electricals’ got them all powered up and by the start of October we were able to start producing again, the buzz was back!
With the wind back in our sails, we managed to find an empty cafe site on Whiteladies Road outside Clifton Down Shopping centre, and before we knew it we were back up and trading in Clifton again, albeit on a vastly smaller scale.
After making incremental gains every month, we find ourselves producing a full range of goodies, 7 Days a week, and are blessed to be getting stronger every month.
A New Start
We have the opportunity to open a Pinkmans Cafe in Stokes Croft, in the current offices of Loved Square, an incredible charity that works tirelessly to improve the life of children in the south-west, who have outgrown the space and are moving to pastures new.
The opportunity comes one year on from the horrific scenes of the fire and we want to turn it into a positive by creating a new cafe and allow us to create growth & development for our incredible team and super talented people within our business!
It's a fantastic space which we've fallen in love with. We have managed to secure most of the funding, we just need £20,000 to get us over the bump and make this a reality.
We've created an array of exclusive and exciting rewards for you to purchase to help us reach our goal.
You’ll also find rewards from some of our friends and peers including the likes of Anna Cake Couture, Caper & Cure, Harbour House and Single Variety Co.
So from everyone of us at Pinkmans, thank you for your time, thank you for your love over the last 8 years and lets see if we can help make the next 8 years even more brilliant and full of sourdoughnuts than ever!! x
This project offered rewards