Three Boston businessmen are the new owners of Back Door Donuts and Martha’s Vineyard Gourmet Cafe and Bakery, the popular Oak Bluffs spot for everything from a late-night apple fritter to a wedding cake.
Janice Casey, who has owned the business for 17 years with her partner, Rita Brown, confirmed the sale Wednesday morning.
According to a press release, the new ownership group includes Richard Friedman, a longtime seasonal Edgartown resident, and Patrick Lyons and David Ginsberg, who both have homes in Chilmark.
Mr. Friedman is a businessman and real estate developer who owns the Charles and Liberty Hotels in Boston. His home on Oyster Pond served as the summer White House when President Bill Clinton and his family came to the Island for summer vacations.
Mr. Lyons is a well-known Boston businessman who owns several downtown restaurants and nightclubs. Mr. Ginsberg is the vice chairman of the Boston Red Sox and the Liverpool Football Club, according to the Red Sox website.
Ms. Casey said the sale closed Tuesday. The purchase price has not been disclosed. Mr. Friedman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Ms. Casey and Ms. Brown do not own the building, situated off Post Office Square in Oak Bluffs.
The bakery opened in 2001 and is open seasonally from April through October. At night the back door opens to customers willing to wait in a long line for a hot doughnut, cinnamon roll, or large apple fritter, a cult favorite among the bakery’s fans.
The late night doughnut tradition in Oak Bluffs goes back to when Peter White owned the Old Stone Bakery in that location, according to Gazette archives. While it isn’t clear when back door baked goods started, some say it began in the 1980s.
The tradition continued after Ms. Brown and Ms. Casey bought the bakery in 2001 and survived a showdown with town officials. In June of 2004, Oak Bluffs selectmen ordered back door doughnuts closed, arguing that it was bad practice to sell food out of a back door and that the sales violated the town’s mandated restaurant closing time.
Outraged fans responded with a petition of nearly 1,000 signatures, and in the end selectmen ordered that the bakery close when restaurants do, but allowed doughnut sales to go on. Over the years the Back Door tradition has only grown in popularity, with orderly lines of people lured in by the scent of hot doughnuts.
Ms. Casey said the new ownership is committed to continuing the business as it is. She and Ms. Brown will stay on as consultants during the first year to assure a smooth transition.
Raffi Jabri, the bakery’s longtime pastry chef, will stay on. “He’s really the man who runs the kitchen and runs Back Door Donuts, so it’s going to be the same food, the same apple fritters as always,” she said.
The new owners said in the press release that they are not planning on any changes when the bakery reopens for the season in mid-April, except some new equipment to serve customers “better and hopefully faster.”
“The bakery is a fantastic and iconic part of the Vineyard community,” Mr. Friedman said in the release. “We intend to run the bakery in the tradition of excellence that Janice, Rita, and the outstanding bakery staff have so carefully and pridefully created.”
Ms. Casey said the business had been up for sale informally.
“We had put it out to the universe that if there was somebody who really loved Back Door Donuts and wanted to buy it, that we’d be open to it,” she said. “We felt Dick was the perfect partner to do that with.”
Ms. Casey said she and Ms. Brown were thankful to customers who had spread the word about Back Door Donuts.
Saying goodbye to the business was bittersweet, she said. “It’s mixed. We’ve worked hard over the last 17 years,” she said. “We’ve spent a lot of time at the bakery and working on bakery things, so it’s sort of become our baby. So there’s some, not sadness, but some something that goes with selling it.
“On the other hand, Rita and I are both going to be 68 this summer, we feel it’s time to be able to enjoy the Vineyard. Our summers are completely tied up with the bakery. It’ll be nice for us to be able to visit with family and friends and go to a concert.”
Comments (34)
Comments
Comment policy »