UPDATE (10:45 a.m. 1/22): Bread Furst tells us it will close today at 3 p.m. so employees who aren’t taking part in the “slumber party” can get home safely.
As for Saturday hours, Bread Furst will decide by 6 a.m. whether it can open. But it does promise to open Sunday after a “shoveling delay.”
(1 p.m. 1/22) We’re also proud of the neighborhood businesses making the difficult decision to close early and all day Saturday. The safety of their employees must come before our comfort. The latest from Little Red Fox:
SNOW HOURS: We are closing at 2 PM today so that all of our employees can get home safely. pic.twitter.com/n7S1KON5dy
— Little Red Fox (@littleredfoxdc) January 22, 2016
With no Metro & dangerous roads, we will also be closed on Saturday. Thanks for understanding. Our team's safety comes first.
— Little Red Fox (@littleredfoxdc) January 22, 2016
Bread Furst is holding a “slumber party” for its staff at the Days Inn starting Friday night so the bakery can continue to serve us warm pastries, soups and drinks during Snowmageddon II.
Manager Eun Yim has reserved hotel rooms for the staff. They do not want to disappoint the patrons who have been so supportive since the attempted robbery on Tuesday. So now it is up to us to brave the snow and wind to make it to Bread Furst over the weekend.
Then again, not even robbery can keep customers away.
Eun Yim got the word at 12:17 p.m. Tuesday, when a staff member called to tell her two men had entered Bread Furst through the back door and attempted to rob the safe in the back office.
She ran to the shop from her apartment building on Connecticut Avenue and got there about five minutes later. She saw the office, realized it was a crime scene,and attempted to clear the store, telling customers that an incident had just taken place.
“Our customers just did not want to leave,” she recalled. “One woman clutched the bread that she had just bought, stood her ground and announced ‘This is just ridiculous.’”
The police arrived five minutes after that, and even they found it wasn’t easy to get folks out the door.
Patrons have trooped in ever since to voice their concern and support.
One customer summed up the fierce loyalty to Bread Furst: “Some people have psychiatrists. We have Bread Furst.”
We’ve reached out to other local businesses to ask if they have a snow plan. Acacia Bistro says yes – they’ll be open with food “more delicious than [Snowmageddon essentials] bread and milk.” Acacia plans to open Friday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m.
Let us know in the comments if you know of other local businesses planning to open their doors, snow or no snow.
And it’s important that we show our loyalty to them should they attempt to open during and immediately following the blizzard. We must especially show our appreciation to the workers who make a special effort to get here. WMATA is suspending all Metrorail service starting at 11 p.m. Friday night, and most Metrobus service already has been suspended, except on “major corridors.” Connecticut Avenue, according to Metro, is not one of them, so there is no L1 or L2 bus service. And if forecasts prove accurate, getting around by car will be next to impossible.
So put on your boots, or cross country skis or snow shoes, throw the kids in a toboggan, and treat yourselves to coffee, a baguette and dinner out!