Lorain's Spudnut Shop

The much-missed Bob's Donuts wasn't the only donut shop in Lorain. There were a lot of others that came and went.

And here's one of them: The Spudnut Shop.

The ad above appeared in the pages of the Lorain Journal on December 21, 1950. That's Mr. Spudnut decked out in a bow tie and top hat.

What's that – you've never heard of Spudnuts?

Well, it was a very popular national chain of donut shops that used potato flour. The first store opened in 1940, and by 1946 the concept was being franchised. (Here's a link to the Wiki entry that explains the history of the chain.)

The Lorain shop opened in November 1950 and was established by Michael and Jo Moldovan.

The donuts with the potato base had their devoted fans. My mother remembers them as being very good.

The Lorain store lasted until around 1956. Then its address – 120 Eighth Street – disappeared in the 1957 directory.

Although the Spudnuts parent company closed around 1980, there are still individual stores that remain open. There's one in Berea, and one out in Mentor too. Here's the list of stores that are still open. And here's another website with a directory and plenty of interesting tidbits and links about the chain.

You can also buy Original Spudnut™Mix on this blog.