Hollin Hall Pastry Struggles to Recover After Outage

is accepting donations to help the store get back on its feet following a four-day power outage that spoiled all its supplies and left the shop closed for six days.

The shop reopened Friday with a supply of breakfast pastries and plans to have sweets filling the showcases by Saturday. However, the store’s insurance policy didn’t cover the losses incurred during the power outage, which totaled about $35,000, said General Manager Tammy Swann.

All supplies in refrigerators or freezers were a total loss, Swann said. The shop also runs a wholesale business, supplying local restaurants and hotels with desserts, which will take even longer to restart, she said.

As a small business with little cash on hand, the shop’s owners are asking loyal customers to patronize the business to get cash in the door and consider making a donation to the business.

Swann said due to an oversight by store management, she assumed all losses would be covered by insurance, as was the case with the shop’s previous policy.

“It was an oversight on our part. We didn’t read it,” she said. “So what we’re hoping is we can get an influx of cash in here and get the supplies we need to keep us going, and hope that our creditors will give us a little time to catch back up.”

A donation jar has been placed on the store counter, and Swann said she is considering offering a voucher program in which customters buy, say, 100 vouchers that can be used throughout the year.

“Our customers are great,” Swann said. “They are so helpful and so caring. We are really lucky.”

Anyone wishing to make a donation can visit the store, located at 7920 Fort Hunt Road, or call 703-768-9643.