Mini-donut maker calls it quits after 10 years on the stand

After a decadein the business, the owner of a unique food stand in St. John's is hanging up the mixer.

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Derek Strong, owner and operator of Adam's Mini Donuts which makes regular appearances at the Farmer's Market in St. John's is selling his "happiest little business" this month.

"We are absolutely going to miss it," Strong said. "We are happy that it's going to great people, but we are sad we won't see our customers anymore."

The stand, which makes fresh mini-donuts as customers look on, has become a hit at the St. John's Regatta and Farmer's Market.

Strong says the business is the best weekend job you could ask for.

"We've watched a lot of children grow up over the years," he said. "So it's a bittersweet moment for us."

A decade old

A retired policeman, Strong first started making mini donuts with his wife Tami about ten years ago.

The couple were living in Grand Falls, N.B. at the time, and were "racking [their] brains trying to figure out how [they] could participate," Strong said. Then Trami remembered a donut stand in British Columbia, where they used to live.

"It was like a eureka moment," he says. "We could do that too."

Strong says there's not too much to the production making the batter and using the donut machine but the best part of the job is seeing happy little customers.

"Seeing children's faces press their noses against the glass while they watched the donuts being made, just makes it all worthwhile," he said.

"We clean more nose prints off the front of that glass every week, that makes it great for us."

New owners, same name

After eight years operating in St. John's, Adam's Mini-Donuts is officially under new ownership.

Adrian Beaton is buying the business this month. He says he was a fan of the business even before he heard of the sale.

"[My partner and I], we kind oflooked at the numbers and everything and said, hey, we could probably make a little bit of money at this," he said on Sunday.

He's pledging to keep the mini-donut stand cooking, and says he may even keep the name, too for fear of angering the stand's loyal customer base.

To hear Strong say it, Beaton has a lot to look forward to.

"Seeing a new person walk up to the booth...and serving a new person, was rewarding," he said. "Because they got to try it for the first time."