DAVENPORT, Iowa — For the owner of Baked Beer & Bread Co. in the Village of East Davenport, it feels like the last year has been one thing after another.
Coming off the heels of the 2019 flood, conducting business during a pandemic has been no easy feat. Mix that with severe weather events like the August derecho and sub-zero temperatures that the 2021 winter has brought, business owners in the Quad Cities have headed up challenge after challenge.
Then, on Tuesday afternoon, February 23, 2021 a water pipe burst in the dining room of Baked Beer & Bread Company, which is located on Mound Street. The busted pipe soaked their cedar floors, cherry wood tables, chairs, booths, some lighting elements and dry wall.
A video shared on the restaurant's Facebook page showed the water spewing into the restaurant.
"Thankfully no one was injured & our amazing local fire department showed up within minutes to help us turn the water off & remove some of the water from the dining room," read the post.
As of Thursday, February 25, Baked co-owner Bill Sheeder said insurance matters have yet to be worked out and they're still figuring out what will need to be replaced.
"It's very morally depleting when you have to keep fighting so much," explained Bill, who owns Baked with his wife, Stephanie Sellers. "You have to have meetings every other about how to survive and it's very difficult."
For the time being, Baked will be open for carryout and delivery so they can continue serving customers and keep staff employed.
Bill and Stephanie also own two locations of "Cookies and Dreams" and they are working to open a breakfast restaurant called "Toasted," set to open downtown Davenport in the spring of 2021.
Bill explained that opening Toasted will be another way to help keep his staff employed.
"Our future, it is questionable," he said, "but we've managed to be a very vocal resilient business in the Quad Cities."
