Swissbakers, a bakery and cafe chain with locations in Allston and Reading, Mass., has filed for chapter 11 protection, with plans to reorganize and continue operations, the Boston Business Journal reported. The company opened its first retail store next to the Reading commuter-rail station in 2009, and in 2013 it opened a second location at the site of a former Volkswagen dealership on Western Avenue, near the Harvard Business School, in Allston. Swissbakers is still up and running, with business largely back to what it was before the pandemic, according to CEO Nicolas Stohr, the son of husband-and-wife founders Helene and Thomas Stohr. The Reading location sees less commuter traffic these days but about the same level of overall business as before, he said, and the same goes for Allston, where the location relies heavily on Harvard for customers and foot traffic. The company plans to file a reorganization plan this month, according to attorney Joseph Bodoff of Boston law firm Rubin and Rudman LLP.
