The Metro: Dutch Girl Donuts to hold grand reopening this Saturday

Back in 1947, Dutch Girl Donuts first opened its doors on Woodward Avenue. At the time, it was renowned for its hand-rolled cinnamon rolls and iconic blue awning. 

Now, after a brief closure, it’s set to reopen its doors at 8 a.m. this Saturday, May 11. The shop’s new owner Paddy Lynch joined The Metro on Thursday to talk about the grand reopening — and brought some fresh donuts with him.

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Lynch says he approached the Timmer family — who’ve owned the shop since ’47 — after he heard it might be closed for good. John Timmer, the grandson of the original owners, will be working in the shop alongside many other former employees who have returned, Lynch said.

“My goal was to not have much change at all. We did take the opportunity to really freshen the place up, you know, paint it, all new lighting, new equipment, polish the terrazzo floors,” he said. “So the building’s really in great shape right now and ready, you know, ready for its return.” 

Although renovations were made, Lynch intends to keep traditions alive, he says.

“As far as the recipes and everything that people loved about it, nothing much has changed,” Lynch said.

He has a few new ideas for the business, however, including additional sweet treats and collaborations, he says.

“There’s a couple of things that we’re doing that I think are cool. The Becharas Brothers are longtime coffee roasters based in Highland Park. They’ve been there for over 100 years. They’re good friends of mine, and so they’ve created a Dutch Girl coffee blend, specifically for the shop. So, we’ll have really good coffee and people can buy bags of coffee to-go.”

A Dutch Girl Donuts ice cream is also in the works, Lynch says. 

“We’re in conversations with Ray’s Ice Cream about doing a Dutch Girl line of ice cream this summer,” he said. “So, I think adding really good coffee and ice cream to the shop will be a nice, nice touch.”

Dutch Girl Donuts will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Lynch.

More headlines from The Metro on May 9, 2024: 

• State Rep. Natalie Price (D-Berkley) has introduced a new bill that will penalize drivers who alter their vehicles to make them louder. Price hopes the legislation will increase the quality of life for the community, which is disrupted when noisy cars fill the streets. Price joined the show to talk about the bill.
• In author Tracie McMillan’s new book, “The White Bonus,” she tries to assess the financial benefits she’s accrued simply because she and her family are coded as white. McMillan joined Stephen Henderson on Created Equal earlier this week to talk about the book. 
• How often do people know their family history? And what does that not-knowing do to them? For some Bengali Americans, their family stories are more complicated than they realize. That’s part of the story of the new documentary, “In Search of Bengali Harlem.” The film, which premiers at 8 p.m. Thursday on PBS, tells the untold stories of Muslim Bengali men who worked for British steamships in the early 1900s. WDET’s Nargis Rahman recently spoke with the co-director of the film Vivek Bald.
• Throughout much of the 20th century, segregation in America was reinforced by policies such as redlining and restrictive covenants, which systematically limited where Black and non-white Americans could live — leading to many suburban areas becoming predominantly white, while cities like Detroit became predominantly Black. But that is slowly starting to change for some racial groups in Detroit and its suburbs, according to the latest U.S. Census data. Associate Professor of Sociology at Eastern Michigan University Grigoris Argeros joined the show to discuss a recent article he wrote for BridgeDetroit about the city’s changing demographics.

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