2026, Business, Food, Uncategorized

Donut Departure

59 Comments

The bad news actually came down before Christmas.  My favorite bakery, SunStreet Breads is closing.  The owners are moving back to their home town and want to pursue “a new business model”.  This coming Sunday is their last day; more importantly to me, yesterday was the last donut day (they only make their fabulous glazed donuts on Wednesdays).

I’ve been preparing mentally for this day for awhile.  I made the card a couple of weeks ago – a big shaker card in the shape of a stand mixer.  On Tuesday I headed to Michaels for a bit of black fabric and made an armband.  Touch too dramatic?  Well, I’ve been to SunStreet every Wednesday for 12 years for my donut fix.  Missed a few during the beginning of Covid when they were closed for a couple of months and there were never donuts on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving due to the high volume of other orders.  I figure I can mark this as a major passing if I want to.

Set my alarm early, headed down to Cub to get a small pot of pretty yellow flowers and was able to arrive at SunStreet by 6:15.  Waited in the car until 6:28 when the line started to form for the door opening at 6:30.  I was in line behind a father and son; the son was about 3 and cute as a button.  He informed me (if I understood him correctly) that they were having donuts before school. 

The head baker came out to say thanks for the flowers, although it was a short greeting and there was no shaking of flour-covered hands!  I was back to my car with my donut and scone by 6:35 and the line of customers was already out the door.  I might drive up there on Sunday morning to see what it’s like, but I expect that it will be a zoo and of course there won’t be donuts (I asked).  Definitely the end of an era for the neighborhood.  Wonder who will take that space next?

Have you ever gotten “verklempt” over a favorite store closing?

59 thoughts on “Donut Departure”

  1. I’m still sad Mojo Monkey in my neighborhood is gone

    Now you have me thinking I need to go to Brake Bread for a cinnamon spinner this morning.

    Morning sugar rush, you know you shouldn’t, but you’ll miss it if you can’t get it

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      1. With no s&h to supply, it’s not a routine, although I did make a batch a couple of weeks ago, because I was craving them.

        The bakery and the co-op maker good ones though, so I generally just get one there (they are huge at the co-op, so I usually divide them in 2, to stretch them out.

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        1. They wouldn’t be very nice when they arrived I fear. Besides, he learned to make them himself, and often does.😃

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  2. Less personal and emotional for a particular store but more dismayed at the cultural shift that has closed so many fabric stores, art supply stores and bookstores. There used to be so many more creative resources.

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    1. I completely agree. Who would’ve ever thought that I would be going to Michael’s to buy fabric. And when I asked what the smallest amount of fabric was that I could buy, I was told, somewhat jokingly, but not totally, that if the manager were there it was a yard, but since the manager wasn’t there, it was a half a yard because apparently the manager doesn’t want to sell less than a yard of fabric at a time. So so sad. Anybody need almost a half yard of black fabric?

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    4. yes michaels and amazon both make it impossible to compete for small art stores. dick blick is a decent supplier but all the little guys needed to raise the white flag
      it was terrible to see joanne close
      harris is the only other local place i know

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      1. I love Blicks. Their supply is much better quality and depth. And you can actually get someone to help you when you’re in the store.

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  4. Just yesterday, I walked the block and a half to a little print shop (Theis Printing) to have some copies made. The door wouldn’t open, and then I noticed the sign – “After 40 years in the business, we’ve decided to close …” and they ceased operations on December 31! I had completely missed this.

    A few years before they apparently bought this building, it was Tushner’s, the well-respected neighborhood grocery and meat market we used, when we lived a few blocks from here in the early 80s.

    Sigh. I went there occasionally for copies (now have to go to Instyprints). But they were great at spiral binding books I would take in that were starting to fall apart – my Moosewood Cookbook, for instance.

    I’ll send them a thank you card and hope it gets forwarded.

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  6. Perfect Day Cakes in Owatonna. Best cupcakes I’ve ever tasted. The owner was a true artist. And an absolute sweetheart too.

    140 different flavors/combinations. Not all at the same time, of course. Usually 10-12 on a given day. Each cupcake was the treat equivalent of a Michelin-star meal.

    Chris in Owatonna

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  7. I miss Joann’s in Faribault. It was a great, convenient place to go for the basics, and for odds and ends, and assorted needful things.

    There are art stores around, but they’re often specialized, and don’t have exactly what you need. Independent yarn stores are wonderful, but tend to be expensive.

    There’s a great bakery/sandwich shop here in Dundas, Martha’s Eats and Treats. They’re only open on Fridays and Saturdays until 2 p.m. The sandwiches are yummy but the scones and cardamon twists are delightful.

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      1. Yes. They just moved to that location. They were near Hwy 19 until about a month ago. They have a yummy cardamon thing too. I’m not sure what to call it. It’s basically a warm lump of deliciousness.

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  8. Antique stores are not what they used to be. More and more their stock looks like the furnishings in our house or like things we’ve discarded.

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      1. They think it means it’s worth more because it’s “vintage”. I’ve tried that tactic… it doesn’t seem to work for my stuff…
        My stuff is just “old”.

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      2. According to Google, vintage can be as young as 20 years old. That means that some of my clothing is unintentionally vintage. I know some of my shoes are.

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      1. Well, none of it is actually from the’60s or the ‘60s but that was sort of the point of my little joke. It’s what happens when a vintage person visits a store selling vintage items.

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    1. To celebrate, I went to visit a township resident and told him there was a complaint about his rooster… (He does live in a residential area)
      I also told him, the rules get a little fuzzy as our current ordinance says “chicken”, not ‘hen or rooster’… And since it’s an anonymous complaint, I wasn’t going to follow up on it anymore, so he could do with that as he wishes.
      Is that wrong?

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      1. Roosters are indeed hard to live with, but I don’t need to tell you that. You live with them.

        Welp, our president is bombing a country for no reason. That is wrong. Big Wrong. Now compare that to an obnoxious rooster offending an anonymous complainant who wants you to solve his/her problem that may not be a well defined problem due to vague city ordinances. What can you do? I know. Bomb the rooster!

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        3. What really gets me are all the die-hards that flip us off when we’re protesting. Some of them are obviously very angry about us protesting. I don’t understand how we can see the same situation so differently.

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        4. I suspect that Northfield has had a sharp town-and-gown tension for a long time, with the two prestigious and expensive colleges within city limits and the population of faculty and students that represent further education and privilege set against the locals with less education and perhaps live outside the city for a reason. They approach the situation with ready-made grievance and resentment, whether justified or not, and interpret things through that filter.

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  10. I think I told you about my son have a growth in his remaining kidney after having the first removed for cancer. He had an MRI today. It’s a cyst and they checked every organ in his abdomen. All cancer free.
    Clyde

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  11. We don’t go there as often because it’s not nearby, but we’ll also miss Sun Street. Didn’t have the donuts, but their French fries are the best, along with the bread, scones, cookies, etc. Not sure if we’ll get a chance to go there before they close, but will be interested to see what their new venture on the North Shore is like.

    Many years ago, our go-to bakery was Palm’s Bakery in St. Louis Park. Their raised, glazed donuts were heavenly and made the drive to the office in the morning worthwhile. We don’t have a favorite local bakery now; this part of the suburbs is a bread/baked goods desert.

    I miss JoAnn, but at least got to shop there during my prime sewing years, when the kids were little. I remember finding just the perfect fabrics in the perfect shades of yellow for Daughter’s Belle Halloween costume, spotted fur fabric for her Dalmatian costume, and the most beautiful, fancy braided trim for Son’s Captain Hook coat.

    Another shop I mourned was the Bibelot, which had locations in Linden Hills and St. Paul. I could always find the perfect gift there.

    It’s not in our neighborhood, but Wet Paint in St. Paul on Grand Avenue is a wonderful art store where I can easily get lost and spend lots of money.

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    1. My very first job when I moved to the Twin Cities was at Palm Bakery. The breaks between classes (high school across the street) were killer.

      I also miss Salk’s Drug Store which was on the corner of Lyndale & 54th for many years. They went under even before there was a Walgreens across the street. The pharmacist that I liked went to Cub when Salk’s closed down, so I followed him there.

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  12. There used to be three Waldo’s pizzas in Rochester back when I was in high school and for a few years after. I still miss them, of course it could just be the nostalgia of it all.

    And there was a place called Eduardo’s where he spent a lot of time and they had really good food.

    I miss the old John Deere dealership called Sparks and Tradup. “Red“ Sparks, and Paul Tradup. Back when it was a small town dealership and not just another mega-dealer network. For a while dad dealt with Red and then when he didn’t get along with Red he dealt with Paul. After while he went back to Red. Don, the parts guy, was real friendly to me as a little kid and would give me little toys and all the magazines I wanted. That’s how you create customer loyalty.

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  14. i miss hardware stores, department stores, airlines, car brands and many vintage ways proven obsolete by wal mart, home depot, delta and all the anti competitive conglomerates that rule the world today.
    mom and pop souls are gone, the world has gone to hell in a handbasket.
    we were lucky to enjoy the world as it was. youngsters today are justifiably jaded.
    i can still order rocky rococo pizza driving through madison on my way to chicago. the garden pizza is one of my favorites and can still be ordered as a whole pizza (they quit selling slices) so i call 30 miles before i get there.
    im still going to bob dylan concerts so some stuff still hangs on. funny he and mccartney are reasonably priced. new stars tour for $300 a seat and get it.
    pickup trucks are $50,000
    home prices start at $400,000
    portugal has begun putting limits on who and how many can move in from disengaged expats who want out.
    gang on tight. its going to be a bumpy ride.

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  15. I used to have a lot of favorite haunts in downtown St. Paul many years ago. Gleason’s, where you could bulk buy nuts and candied fruits out of barrels. Three Sisters, where you could get a straw hat for three dollars, and I did. The old Woolworths, with the second floor housing parakeets, sewing notions, and fabric bolts. Three Acre Wood, the record store/head shop of the seventies. The Kmitsch Girls General Store. Woods chocolates. Eisenberg’s groceries. St. Paul Book & Stationery.

    Everything has been replaced by Amazon and Target….except the charm of those little stores.

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