[nfbmi-talk] A Little OT: Cops And Doughnuts

Fri May 26 04:00:31 UTC 2017

Last time we were in Kzoo, I brought over a dozen Sweetwater donuts and 
they went for $47 at the auction. You can bet I'll be doing that again 
for this year, maybe a couple. And yes, that's the east side store.

On 5/17/2017 4:33 PM, Christine Boone via NFBMI-Talk wrote:
> Well, as a blind traveller, I have eaten doughnuts in too many American states to count, and I can absolutely say that, in the opinion of myself, who happens to be blind, Sweetwater Doughnuts in Kalamazoo is hands-down best! Actually the East Kalamazoo store is even better than the west side store but either one is unmatched! Though much is in a name and Cops and Doughnuts has to win in the name department!
>
> Boone Christine Sent from my iPhone
>
> On May 17, 2017, at 2:18 PM, Haley Dare via NFBMI-Talk <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> We should have this place send a bunch of doughnuts over for breakfast at our state convention!  My favorite way to start a busy morning; delicious Maxwell House coffee and a sweet treat, be it white cake, a doughnut, a fruit pastry, a cinnamon muffin...  Smiles!
>
>     On Wednesday, May 17, 2017 1:23 PM, Fred Wurtzel via NFBMI-Talk <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
>
> Hello,
>
>
>
> Below is an article about the Cops and Doughnuts bakery chain, here in
> Michigan.  A little Off Topic, I admit, though we blind folks do eat
> doughnuts a lot in our various gatherings.  I figure that blind people like
> doughnuts.  A lot of us travel in the summer and Clare is on the way to a
> lot of places.  Recently Sweetwater Doughnuts in Kalamazoo was voted best
> doughnut shop in Michigan.  I have dutifully sampled the wares of both and I
> lean a little toward Cops and Doughnuts.  I might add, that peter Posont had
> a wedding cake (Peter is a Cop in Canton) made of doughnuts from Sweetwater.
> Oh, there is the blindness connection, since Peter is the son of Larry
> Posont who is a Michigan School for the Blind graduate and Donna who is also
> blind.
>
>
>
> As the Editor of Grease and Sugar monthly, I can promise that you will not
> be disappointed by a purchase from either place.
>
>
>
> Warmest Regards,
>
>
>
> Fred
>
>
>
> If you want to find all the cops, they're buying up the doughnut shops
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> Carl Stoddard Capital News Service
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> May 16, 2017
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> LANSING - What started as a simple rescue mission for nine Clare police
> officers has turned into breakout business success.
>
> The nine officers, who made up Clare's entire police force, learned that a
> longtime bakery and doughnut shop in their hometown was about to close. So
> they joined forces and bought the business in 2009.
>
> Today it is called Cops & Doughnuts and is drawing customers from all over
> the world. The company also has rolled out other shops, called "precincts,"
> in Ludington, Gaylord, Bay City and South Bend, Indiana.
>
> This summer, a fifth precinct is expected to open in Mt. Pleasant, according
> to Alan "Bubba" White, vice president of the Cops & Doughnuts chain.
>
> In addition, the company's seven delivery vehicles, called "paddy wagons,"
> deliver doughnuts to display cases in about 100 other retailers.
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> White is one of the original owners of Cops & Doughnuts. The other eight
> officers are still involved in the business. No new partners have been
> brought in, White said.
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> He and one other owner-officer have retired. The others are still on the
> force.
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> But while the owners have stayed the same, the business has not. Today, the
> main shop, "the headquarters," employs 63 people, White said, and the entire
> corporation employs 180 people.
>
> The customer base also is growing. The Clare shop has attracted customers
> from as far away as Thailand, Germany, South Africa and New Zealand, White
> said. It is the police story that draws them in.
>
> "We don't sell doughnuts," White said over coffee in the busy Clare shop.
> "We sell cops' doughnuts."
>
> White said the previous owners of the Clare bakery, founded in 1896, were
> ringing up about $86,000 a year in gross sales.
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> These days, just the annual payroll at Cops & Doughnuts is more than $1
> million, he said.
>
> "And that's just the Clare store," White said. "That's money not being
> stashed in the Cayman Islands. It stays here."
>
> Staying as local as possible is important, he said.
>
> The doughnuts and other bakery items, for example, are made with ingredients
> from Dawn Food Products Inc. in Jackson and Gordon Food Service in Wyoming,
> Michigan, he said. Cops & Doughnuts' three specially blended coffees are
> produced by Paramount Coffee Co. in Lansing.
>
> The stores also sell mugs, clothing and a variety of items, most of which
> are cop-related.
>
> "Nearly everything we sell is Michigan-made or American-made," White said.
>
> That's all part of the company's efforts to support the communities where it
> does business, he said.
>
> "The thing about us, we truly believe, the more you give the more comes back
> to you," White said.
>
> At all of its locations, Cops & Doughnuts is involved in community groups,
> sports and activities, he said.
>
> Longtime customers Laura Ahac and Jason Dole, owners of the No Limit Screen
> Printing business in Clare, say they have been coming to the Cops &
> Doughnuts shop in Clare since it opened. They like the food and are frequent
> lunch customers. They say they also like the friendly atmosphere and the
> free WiFi.
>
> "I think this is the only place in Clare you can bring your computer and sit
> for hours and hours and it never bothers any of the employees," Ahac said.
> "We can be here all day."
>
> Dole says he appreciates the shop's vibe. "It's always upbeat."
>
> Melissa Mills of Clare, who moved from Frankfurt, Germany, four years ago,
> has worked at Cops & Doughnuts for about two years. She is a supervisor and
> often can be found working behind the display cases of colorful doughnuts
> and pastries.
>
> "I love it here," she said during a break. "You don't feel pressure at all.
> Everyone is like a big family here. That makes working here really easy."
>
> Cops & Doughnuts' Ludington shop opened in 2016 at the site of the
> McDonald's Bakery, which had been a local institution since 1889.
>
> "They've done a great job preserving that heritage," said Heather Tykoski,
> Ludington's community development director.
>
> The chain's move into Ludington "has been extremely positive," Tykoski said.
> "They dove in and became very active in the community."
>
> Since opening in Ludington, Cops & Doughnuts has sponsored and participated
> in a variety of community events, she said.
>
> The doughnut shop is close to the Lake Michigan dock where the S.S. Badger
> car ferry comes and goes, she said, so a lot of passengers stop at the shop
> while on their way.
>
> The busy doughnut shop also is spurring other development in the area,
> Tykoski said. "It builds that interest," she said.
>
> Cops & Doughnuts' presence in Clare also has helped drive development in
> that community, said Pam O'Laughlin, executive director of the 209-member
> Clare Area Chamber of Commerce.
>
> "Cops & Doughnuts has been a benefit to our community in a multitude of
> ways," O'Laughlin said.
>
> Before the doughnut shop opened, she said, downtown Clare had a lot of empty
> storefronts.
>
> "Now we have just one," she said.
>
> The number of visitors to the downtown area has steadily increased since the
> doughnut shop opened, rising to an estimated 1.2 million last year, she
> said.
>
> "It's probably tripled the amount to traffic," she said.
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