What We Lose When We Lose Old-Timey Doughnut Shops

Twin Donuts. / Photo by David Salafia via Flickr/Creative Commons

Old-fashioned doughnut shops are as much a part of the Bostonian character as, say, cheering on the Sox or throwing some steak tips on the grill. (Dunkin’ Donuts was born nearby in Quincy, after all.) Everyone’s got a routine: Some pick up a half dozen chocolate frosted every Sunday morning for the family, and others catch up with old friends over a no-frills cup of coffee and a grilled corn muffin at the corner table. Maybe the butternut coffee roll is the secret sauce that gets you through your Monday meetings; maybe the friendly greeting from familiar staff brightens your day. The details of the old-timey doughnut shop experience may vary, from cash-only mom-and-pops with zero internet presence to modernized homages to the past, from warm service to lovably gruff. But the way these shops make us feel is universal and special, adding a bit of sweetness to our day-to-day schedules and rooting us to our communities. When they close, we lose a bit of our connection to a simpler time and, most importantly, to each other.

See also: Where to Eat the Top Doughnuts in Boston

Allston’s Twin Donuts—open since 1955 and under the current ownership, the Taing family, since 2001—closes after service on March 23, citing rising costs of “everything.” The shop is an ode to the American dream: Husband and wife Leang Sim Taing and Chiang Sou Pang were born in Cambodia and escaped the Khmer Rouge, living in Thailand and the Philippines before coming to the United States. Working hourly jobs, Taing dreamed of being a business owner, and the couple purchased the doughnut shop in 2001. He passed away the following year, but Pang and their children Catherine, Woo, and Wayne Taing have kept the dream alive.

Even if it’s not your neighborhood doughnut shop, you can feel the rip in the community fabric. It’s not the first decades-old doughnut shop we’ve lost in the past decade; folks in Cambridge are still hurting about the closure of Verna’s in 2016, and Ohlin’s Bakery in Belmont closed that same year—after a stunning century-plus in business—following an oven explosion. In a region with approximately 10 Dunkin’ locations on every block, every closure of a decades-old, family-owned independent spot hurts.

A goodbye message from Twin Donuts, shared by Allston-Brighton Chamber of Commerce and other local sources.

Current and past Allston residents are taking the upcoming Twin Donuts closure hard. Some only knew it as a landmark with iconic signage—so iconic that director Errol Morris featured the exterior in a Miller High Life commercial. (To our knowledge, Twin Donuts never served beer, but that would have been fun.) Others ventured in regularly for a cruller or honey dip on the go; others lingered over the omelets, club sandwiches, and such that the Taing family introduced in the early aughts, taking Twin Donuts into its diner era. Fortunately the Taings’ other businesses, Cafe Mirror and Brighton Cafe, remain in operation, but Twin Donuts fans will have to bid farewell to the familiar space at the intersection of Cambridge and North Beacon streets and Brighton Avenue. And what will happen to that neon sign?

A new generation of doughnut shops has emerged in the past couple of decades—spotless and bright, full of over-the-top pastries that play well on social media. In many cases, they taste great, too, and represent the dream of a hard-working family in the same way as the timeless classics. Patronize those shops, sure—we could all use a decadent maple bacon-topped treat or an enormous late-night apple fritter now and then. But don’t forget about the old-fashioned spots that we still have, such as Donuts with a Difference in Medford, Anna’s Hand Cut Donuts in West Roxbury, Gail Ann Coffee Shop in Arlington, and Doughboy Donuts in South Boston. Both types of doughnut shops have a place in our community—and both types are equally vulnerable to rising food and supply costs—so do your part and share some coffee and doughnuts with your neighbors while you still can.

Buttercrunch coffee roll from Donuts with a Difference in Medford, one of Greater Boston’s remaining old-fashioned doughnut shops. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal

Twin Donuts closes after business on March 23, 2025. 501 Cambridge St., Allston, Boston.