Why Doesn’t Michigan Have Any Spudnuts?
They got 'em in Ohio.
They got 'em in Illinois.
They got 'em in a few other places around the country.
So why doesn't Michigan have any Spudnuts Donut Shops?
They used to.
According to a newspaper article from 1948, there was one in Ann Arbor that opened on July 20 of that year at 622 E. Liberty. The article said the shop featured a “special doughnut type pastry”. Okay...what made it so special?
POTATOES. These donuts were made with potatoes.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Spudnuts were the brainchild of Al & Bob Pelton from Salt Lake City, who debuted the spudnut in 1940. Bob had been a baker when he was in the navy, and found this recipe while in Germany.
Other than the spuds, what else made these so special? Air pockets that didn't soak up grease, thanks to the potato flour and secret ingredients.
The Peltons used neighborhood kids to peddle bags of Spudnuts around the neighborhood.....these pastries soon became a favorite of kids, even more so than candy and chocolate bars. After getting bugged and pressured by other shops who wanted to sell Spudnuts themselves, the Peltons decided to franchise. However, they never did reveal ALL their secret Spudnut ingredients...they wanted theirs to have that original unique taste. They took their complete secret recipe to the grave.
Spudnuts cost a mere 50 cents a dozen and had over 300 shops nationwide. Unfortunately, with the changing of the times, it became questionable to have small children going door-to-door selling bagged – not wrapped – doughnuts and the Spudnut empire began to decline. When 1989 rolled around, there were only 28 shops left open.
Today there are scattered Spudnut shops across the country, with the owners attempting to come up with their own secret recipe to match the original...but that ain't gonna happen.
There are a total of 16 Spudnut shops in the U.S., one in Canada, and even one in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam! So again, I ask – why don't we have at least one in Michigan?
SPUDNUTS!
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