Crowd Lines Up To Help Bread And Chocolate Owners In Concord

By Nancy West, InDepth NH

The line to get in to Bread and Chocolate bakery in downtown Concord on Wednesday morning. MELISSA WEST photo

CONCORD, NH — The line was long to buy bread, cakes, and assorted goodies at Bread and Chocolate bakery in Concord on Wednesday, but no one was complaining.

One customer spent almost two hours in line. Concord people came out in full to support the South Main Street bakery’s owners Franz and Linda Andlinger.

Linda suffered a sudden medical emergency and was hospitalized in intensive care, according to the bakery’s manager Krystina Hill, who set up a GoFundMe page for her bosses to help during this emergency.

Hill said her boss told her to close the bakery for the rest of the week as they work through the unknowns, but she decided to open Wednesday to sell the inventory on hand so it wouldn’t be lost.

A posting on Facebook and the line formed.

“Franz is very proud in the kindest way and has not asked for any extra help from the community and even when we were approached to be part of applying for a grant for small businesses who have suffered a loss during Covid, he denied the offer saying there had to be people that needed it more than we do and we are getting by,” Hill wrote on the GoFundMe page.

But this week is different with the uncertainty of Linda’s condition and concern about unknown medical bills, she wrote.

Hill asked for prayers for Linda as well. The bakery has been at its current location for 16 years and others before that.

“Keeping Linda and Franz in my thoughts and prayers! Sending courage and patience and love to them both! We will be stopping by the bakery today!” said Jodi Shattuck on Facebook.

Mandy Omasta posted: “I love there is a line outside at 730!!!”

This story was originally published by InDepth NH.