Hermann's Bakery open again

It seems my eyes deceived me yesterday, when I wrote that I saw that Hermann's Bakery was closed. The latest Royal Oak Patch article on the story reported that it was open Friday.

Hermann's Bakery reopened at 9 a.m. Friday after being closed for nearly a week after a roof collapse at La Feast, the restaurant next door. ... On Wednesday, Hermann’s learned its building was safe to occupy. Stodola said employees came back to work on Thursday and baked overnight to restock shelves.

I swear I saw the yellow "Unsafe for Occupancy" signs in its windows, as well as those of its neighbors. At least my eyes weren't tricking me about their status.

Beyond Juice and La Feast both remain closed. Craig said he has not received a letter (engineer's report) from the owners of those two buildings stating the structures are safe. Beyond Juice leases its space; the owner of that building needs to sign off on reopening. "I got a call from the owner of Beyond Juice asking if they could reopen because they noticed Hermann's was," said Craig. "I told him I need a letter from the owner of the building saying it's safe." Beyond Juice leases their building space.

As for La Feast, if the building isn't safe for occupancy, it might have to be demolished and rebuilt to bring it up to code.

Hermann’s was built in 1902 and the La Feast building in 1908. For a century, they shared a common wall which supported both roofs. Stodola says owner Richard Hermann knew about the wall. Jason Craig, the city's chief building official, said any rebuilding will require the new structure to meet current codes — any new construction must have its own load-bearing walls.

The article doesn't report what the owners of La Feast think about this possiblity, but Pam Stodola, the manager of Hermann's, would like it.

Stodola says she welcomes new walls, which will prevent noise and odors from passing from building to building. “Sometimes when they were cooking, smoke would come through the walls and it would make our building smell like something was burning,” she said.

This will be an ongoing story. I'll keep you all updated.