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cottage donut shoppe
Retirement never tasted so sweet
Armco retiree says he's not worried about the economy: 'Everyone can afford a doughnut.'
Thursday, February 05, 2009
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Cottage Donut Shoppe owner Larry Banks holds a tray of doughnuts inside the new Middletown business at the corner of Yankee and Oxford State roads on Tuesday, Feb. 3.
Cottage Donut Shoppe Inc. is located at 3237 Yankee Road in Middletown. Hours are 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday-Saturday. For more information, call (513) 422-2625.MIDDLETOWN — Larry Banks' wife told him the doughnut market was full of holes, but even in this economy it's still a sweet job.
Banks, an Armco retiree, said he has always wanted to start his own business. He grew up in the hustle and bustle of Reed Center, a variety store and laundromat his parents owned on Oxford State Road.
Even before the economy began taking a turn for the worse, Banks said he wanted to do something enjoyable and affordable for the whole family. His answer was doughnuts at the new Cottage Donut Shoppe Inc.
"I had already bought equipment when the economy started becoming not so good. But I still feel like everyone can afford a doughnut, so I continue," he said.
He selected the old location of the Cottage Bar & Grille. It's near his parents' old store on the corner of Yankee and Oxford State roads.
He decided to keep part of the name.
Above the kitchen where Banks bakes fresh doughnuts each day from midnight until the store opens at 5 a.m. is the original neon "The Cottage" sign from its predecessor.
The shop also is close to where the new $340 SunCoke Energy coke oven facility that is being built, though Banks said his plans were under way long before news of the plant came to light.
However, he said he looks forward to the extra business the 70 jobs there could bring.
Customers coming into the quaint three-employee shop now constantly exclaim about the delicious smell of sugar and dough from the fresh-baked doughnuts, said employee Lindsay Murphy.
"I like the people here," she said.
While Cottage Donut Shoppe Inc. is a cash-only store, the baked goods range in price from 60 cents for a glazed doughnut to $1.25 for caramel rolls and apple fritters.
The shop also boasts a drive-through window, which Banks said he installed himself.
It seems that word of mouth — and taste — is getting around, he said.
"We sell out of doughnuts a lot," he said. "It's good. This is what I've wanted to do, so I am trying."
Cottage Donut Shoppe Inc.
Where: 3237 Yankee Road, Middletown
Hours: 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday-Saturday
For more: Call (513) 422-2625
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2843 or jheffner@coxohio.com.
