2 weeks Ago
Emily Bachelder makes blueberry cake donuts at Tony’s Donuts in 2012. The longstanding business has been put up for sale. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald Portland institution Tony’s Donuts is for sale.
The business — on the corner of Congress and Bolton streets — was founded by Antonio Fournier in 1965. Rick Fournier took over after his father died in 2005, continuing to make doughnuts in classic flavors like chocolate glazed, honey dipped, jelly, cinnamon sugar and molasses, as well as old-fashioned pastries such as cream horns and turnovers. But Rick Fournier is suffering from multiple sclerosis and isn’t able to continue working, according to his daughter and Tony’s manager Michelle Goddard.
He owns the business jointly with his two siblings, and the family made the “hard decision” to sell it, she said. Both the building and the business are for sale. “We were trying hard not to have to do it,” Goddard said.
“I’m still hoping somebody buys it and keeps it what it is.” Tony’s employs 10 people, including herself, Goddard said. She has been working there “forever.
People ask, ‘When did you start working here?'” She said she tells them, ” ‘As soon as I could bag a doughnut.’ When I was little, there wasn’t really daycare. It was always bring-your-kid-to-work day.
” The shop has some very longtime regulars, including a few she remembers from her high school days (she graduated in 1987), and “a bunch of guys” who used to come in every day for coffee, doughnuts and conversation with her dad. Goddard said her uncle was handling the sale, and she does not know the asking price. She added that the doughnut shop will remain open until it is sold.
Tony’s Donuts briefly expanded, opening a shop in South Portland on Broadway for two years in 2013. Its longtime neighbor, and another neighborhood institution, Anania’s, closed last November. We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers.
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