Milton Quality Bakery forced to shut down after storm damage. When will it open again?

If a morning doughnut from the Milton Quality Bakery is part of your routine, you may be forced to hold off for a little bit.

The Milton staple took a heavy hit from storms Sunday night, causing damage to the roof and forcing the shop to close, at least for the immediate future.

"I did wish I had an answer, but I don't know," said the bakery's owner, Eric Michener, on when people can expect the shop to open again. "… I've sent the financial documents to (our insurance company). We've sent our payroll documents and stuff like that. So, we're just waiting."

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Michener said the bakery has been in its current location since 1964 and has been passed down through generations. He said the shop has not really changed since his grandparents were running it in the 1970s and stressed that they still make everything from scratch.

Michener recalled learning about the damage the night of the storm on Sunday, telling the News Journal that his son was in the store with other employees when the bad weather hit.

"So, he shut the back doors and you know, kind of hunkered down. They all came up here and kind of hung out and waited. And then (they) said the glass was bowing and shaking and the transformer was popping," Michener said.

By the next day, however, a crew of roof repairmen were already out drying the structure to stop any additional damage from occurring.

"There are a lot of things in this community that are relationship driven. It was actually a referral from a good friend of mine and a fellow business owner, who happens to know the owners (at the bakery) really well," said Brian Ward, founder Quality Roofing Solutions, the company that dried out the bakery's roof.

Ward said there is nothing particularly out of the ordinary in terms of the damage but said the timeline on replacing the roof will heavily depend on the insurance side of things.

"We happen to be patrons of the bakery as well. We're all very eager to help get them back up and running as soon as possible," Ward said. "And I know, obviously, there's a big following in the community that have an interest in seeing them back up and running quickly as well."

Ward said he is eager to put a new roof on the building, adding once it is approved, it can take several weeks to complete.

For Michener, he said that this is not the first time the building has taken a hit, adding they were also down for weather reasons because of Hurricane Dennis in 2005. He said on that occasion, the bakery was closed for at least a month.

"I mean, the scariest part of this whole thing is, we're down and then my employees (might) get other jobs, and they don't want to come back," Michener said. "And I feel like they're so good that someone will be glad to snatch them up."

Michener spoke about the fact that customers had orders — like wedding cakes — in the works when the storm hit. He said though, that he has forwarded those to people he trusts.

"We get (the customers) taken care of where they don't miss a beat and someone, who we know, will take care of them," Michener said.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Milton Quality Bakery temporarily closed after weekend storm damage