Fundraisers aim to help the owners of Artisan Boulanger Patissier

Artisan Boulangerie Patissier, the James Beard-nominated South Philadelphia bakery and a prime source of fine banh mi rolls, is closed as owners Amanda Eap and Andre Chin battle health issues.

Eap told me that she hopes to be back in several weeks after her own cancer surgery; meanwhile, Chin, her husband, is fighting what she called an aggressive relapse of cancer.

Customers are stepping in to help the couple. Daniel Weber has organized a GoFundMe, and Miss Rachel’s Pantry in South Philadelphia — full disclosure: chef/co-owner Rachel Klein is my daughter — is hosting a benefit cocktail party on Nov. 1 ($75 a ticket) that will include live music, food from Conscious Cultures, Rowhouse Grocery, and FarmArt Produce, and raffles.

Eap and Chin are immigrants from Cambodia. Eap’s family settled in Philadelphia, where her father owned a doughnut shop in West Philadelphia. Chin, who was studying baking in Paris, met her during a visit to the United States, when he stopped into her dad’s store.

The bakery started in 2002 on the corner of 12th and Morris Streets, now the site of Separatist Beer Project and, at the time, in the heart of an Italian American neighborhood. Inquirer food columnist Rick Nichols saw Eap loading her car with baguettes and asked her what was up. Eap later said his article put them on the map.

In 2013, facing the sale of the building, they moved to 1218 Mifflin St.