High school and college seniors need to stay home because of the coronavirus, and no one is happy about that. So, one bakery in Minnesota decided to cheer sad seniors up with delicious, and free, graduation cakes!
800 Cakes In Five Weeks
When Bill Hanisch, the owner of the Hanisch Bakery and Coffee Shop in Red Wing, Minnesota, first had the idea to make free cakes for seniors during coronavirus, he only planned on baking 200. However, when word of Hanisch’s incredible offer started to spread through the town, he found himself inundated with phone calls for information. So, the man lovingly upped it to a whopping 800 free cakes!
Graduates of 12 schools in Red Wing and the surrounding areas will receive a free cake from the bakery to celebrate the occasion. “Our seniors are going to be missing out on so much, so many opportunities and events, that I just felt like I needed to do something. And cake makes people happy,” Hanisch said.
These are some seriously lucky seniors: each cake features two layers and comes decorated with decadent frosting in the colors of the school. “I have a lot of crazy ideas, and sometimes they’re really good. You can still celebrate with your immediate family and what’s a better way than with cake?” Hanisch commented.
Unexpected Orders
Red Wing’s population is under 17,00, so everyone knows the Hanisch Bakery for their amazing donuts and yummy cinnamon rolls. Not only that, but the bakery has been a part of the town for decades, as Hanisch inherited it from his parents. Now, he wants to give back to the city that has given him so much over the years. “I think back to my graduation party and the cake that I was given by the bakery staff. It was a cake made out of sponge. The graduation cake is one of those things that was always important. To have a graduation cake and celebrate what you’ve accomplished in the last 14 years,” he recalled.
So, it makes sense why Hanisch would want to make cakes for the seniors in Red Wing. But how did he end up making cakes for people in other counties? Well, that is a heartwarming story…
Supporting Each Other
Afterword started to spread that Hanisch would make cakes for the seniors in town, he recieved a call from a nearby town, Blooming Prairie. It seems that their bakery had burned down, and they could not provide any cakes to their seniors. So, never one to back down from a challenge or let someone go hungry, Hanisch took on the challenge. From there, the number grew to 800. “It’s right up there with being able to provide cakes to my hometown, being able to provide cakes to this town that lost a bakery to a fire. That one hits home,” he said.
“The emotion didn’t hit until other towns started wanting to do it. To see the support that we got from the community and some donations to help us with this… It leaves me speechless,” Hanisch added. Thankfully, it’s also a way to keep his 21 employees busy and getting good paychecks during the pandemic.
“We’ve stayed busy enough that I have not had to lay off any of my full-time employees,” he said. “That’s what’s gonna make this even more special, to also make sure these people are provided a job. I can’t be that crazy if it’s working.”
Sources: MSN, RiverTowns.