Granny Donuts
| Address: | 1555 S Robert St, St Paul, MN 55118, USA |
| Phone: | +1 651-451-6132 |
| Site: | facebook.com |
| Rating: | 3.9 |
| Working: | 5AM–10PM 5AM–10PM 5AM–10PM 5AM–10PM 5AM–10PM 5AM–5PM 5AM–5PM |
Location
Photos 76
Reviews 5
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Kristen Weeks
I makes me sad that so many people seem to have had bad experiences at Granny Donuts, when I have only good things to say! The first time that I ever went there, several years ago, I was getting my then-toddler-age son out of the car when I saw the sign on the door that said "CASH ONLY." I didnt have any cash on me, so I started to load my son back into the car, when the owners wife ran out, gesturing to me to come in the store. I pointed to the sign and explained that I didnt have any cash, but she shook her head and gestured me in again, saying, "Its okay. You pay next time." She gave me and my son each free donuts and a couple donut holes to boot. They were so amazingly melt-in-your-mouth delicious that I knew she was right--there would definitely be a next time. When I did go again, I made sure to add a couple extra dollars to the tip jar to pay for the time before. Ever since then, we have been met with nothing but friendliness and courtesy every time we enter the store. Ive only ever dealt with the owner and his wife, but they have been wonderful to me (possibly in part because their grandson is only a week or so apart in age from my son? they comment on it every time). They always give us a special deal, 3 for the price of 2 or something similar, and also throw in extra donut holes for my son. But really, their donuts are reasonably priced to begin with, especially for how scrumptious they are. I think if you dont appreciate the owners sense of humor, it could easily come off as being brusque or rude, but I have never seen him be genuinely rude to a customer. I have, however, heard stories from formerly faithful customers about how the owners son can be very surly and rude, enough to keep them from ever going back, though I have never experienced it myself. All I know is that the owners themselves have always seemed sweet and friendly to me, and they make some of the best donuts on the planet.
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Arthur Hart
The is the best local, mom-and-pop doughnut shop, period. The glazed donuts are like "sweet air" (my wifes comment). My favorite is the maple-frosted cinnamon roll. Family favorite are the double-chocolate cake doughnuts. I have not found a product they produce that isnt better than I can get anywhere else. Before you go: this is a mom-and-pop operation, so dont expect the plastic, push-button world. Just real people delivering fresh, superior-tasting products. CASH ONLY--leave the plastic and blah-blah pay in your pocket. Step to the counter to order when you arrive, no "next numbers"--get along with your fellow customers. What you see is what you can get (give them a day or two for a special order or massive quantities). If you order a dozen you get a box, if you dont--you get a bag. If you have a question, just ask and you get an answer--leave your resentments in the parking lot and bring your inside voice and mannerisms. Your vehicle has one-way into the parking lot and same one-way out of the parking lot. And if you want a real treat and theyre not busy (which is not very often) take a moment and ask the owners about their grandchildren and they will beam and show you the pictures; get to know the folks you want to trash so flippantly and you might surprise yourself to understand their history before their 30 years in West Saint Paul. Real people--real doughnuts. Simple and satisfying.
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A Private User
REALLY DELICIOUS DONUTS! however, man, u gotta walk through a chamber of hot coals to get what you want. Here is an example of a typical day of me going there: My friend and I walk in and notice there is no one at the counter because its really slow most of the time with 1 or 2 customers at the most. I step up the the front counter and look at a large array of donuts, as my eye gazes over a rainbow of colors and textures, right away the oriental guy says, "ok, lets hurry up and choose a donut!" with a smirk on his face. I was helping my friend decide what donuts to choose and chank behind the counter says, "Dont suggest what donuts are good, just tell him what HE wants and select them for him!" You have to remember this is all going on within 1 minute of us arriving the the shop and he is always impatient even at 2am when they closed late back in the day. So we ended hastily choosing our selection in a frantic pace and the oriental guy goes back to counter and goes back to his computer playing (I guess thats more of a priority leveling up your WoW character instead of helping the customers). Anyways, once you do get your donuts even with some hostility, they taste amazing and you keep coming back for the same abuse because they make excellent pastries! 1 star for service, and 5 star for the food.
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Josh Lammon
The older man behind the counter has the worst customer service skills I have ever witnessed. While trying to order donuts he kept yellong at us to decide how many total donuts we will have. He walked away from us mid order, told us we were wasting his time. In all we spent probably 10 minutes in the store, and 8 of those minutes were waiting for him to help us as we stood at the counter. At the end of the order he refused to sell me donut holes because he said we ordered too much (5 other donuts). He then told me again I wasted his time and to never come back. At that point he proceded to swear at me in front of other customers. Aside from the terrible experience we received from him the store was dirty, food caked on the tables and dirty stained seats, and the donuts looked sloppy and crusted over, nothing like how this place used to be. If I could give this a zero star rating I would without a doubt. We were harrassed and publicly embarassed for just trying to order donuts. A complete waste of my time and apparently his. Would not recommend this disgusting donut store to anyone. You would be better off going to the grocery store for donuts any day.
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Jon Wollenberg
A few things, To everyone that found that the oriental gentleman is rude, hes not its his sense of humor. Hes a man that likes to BS with people and if youre easily offended then youre going to have a bad experience right off the bat. If you want him to just be completely nice to you bring little kids and hell only talk to you kindly, otherwise if its just you or other adults hell treat you like an adult. If you take a little bit of time to get to know the guy hes an awesome guy. Served in the Vietnam war, so yeah he can be a little jaded and pushy. The other thing is that if the other reviews are correct about how bad their service is and how the donuts are just mediocre then how come the business as been there for nearly 30 years? They opened the doors in 1987 and have yet to close down once. Enjoy the joking, enjoy the doughnuts, and just have a good time. And heck get a few extra donuts out of it as well on the house. Also, yes its a cash only place, it really helps small businesses stay in business so they dont have to charge more for their products because of the fees for credit and debit cards.
