French baker Hervé Poussot was forced to close both of his Brooklyn bakeries after his production kitchen, located in the basement of his shop on Water Street, was completely submerged by the encroaching East River flood waters during Hurricane Sandy. By the time the tide went out and its basement could be pumped, everything from the electrical panels to the dough sheeters, refrigerators, and confectionery machines was destroyed. Poussot let go of his Park Slope location and was unsure if he’d be able to reopen in Dumbo, but a group of concerned (and croissant-deprived) neighbors joined forces with a cadre of superstar pastry chefs to help get the lights inside the pastry cases turned back on. After four months, Almondine reopened yesterday. [Earlier, Earlier]
