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Austin City Council to take hard look at Austin Energy, city leadership response

One local bakery is asking the City to "do better" after losing tens of thousands of dollars worth of ingredients and revenue.

AUSTIN, Texas — More than a week after an ice storm knocked out power to thousands of Austinites, crews are still restoring power to a small number of customers. Austin Energy estimates full restoration won't happen until Sunday

One business who suffered from the inclement weather is Quack's 43rd Street Bakery, who lost power at 3 a.m. last Wednesday morning. For six days, the business stayed in the dark. 

"We didn't think it was going to last this long. We didn't get power back until 2 p.m. [Tuesday] afternoon. It was a total loss," Quack Chief of Operations Heather O'Connor said. 

O'Connor said the bakery lost upwards of $50,000 to $60,000 worth of ingredients and $150,000 in revenue. 

"Cookie dough, éclair shells, pastry creams, fruit fillings, pie shells – literally everything," O'Connor said. "We've lost a week of labor. My baristas also make most of their living off of tips. We've lost all of that too." 

The financial losses caused by the power outages left Quack's Bakery to create a virtual tip jar that would help repay the baristas what they would have made had they been open to the public. 

"It's something. It's better than not working. It was nice. It's nice to see the community reach out and support the teams," O'Connor said.

Losses like these are why Austin City Council members are evaluating the storm response on Thursday. Councilmember Mackenzie Kelly is sponsoring an item to audit Austin Energy and its vegetation management plan. Members will also evaluate City Manager Spencer Cronk's performance. 

"That is something on the minds of many Austinites right now. They want to know who is responsible for the failure and communication and the widespread power outages," Kelly said. 

Kelly admits she has a lot of anger and frustration over all the challenges Austinites faced over the past week. 

"It's absurd that people are still without power, and I don't want this to ever happen again, which is why the city council is digging into it," Kelly said. 

That's a sentiment O'Connor shares. 

"Do better. Communication is key," O'Connor said. "There are 73 people that work in this store, and having to communicate the needs of those 73 people and what we're doing with no information was difficult. It was gut-wrenching."

To donate to Quack's, visit the bakery's Venmo, @captainquacks.

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