Customers line up in early hours for Columbia Heights bakery's last day
A beloved bakery in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, is bidding its community goodbye and customers are responding in a big way.
Friday was the last day for Heights Bakery. Customers started lining up at 2:45 a.m.
Roberaa Ayana was the first in line with his cousins.
"We live right around the corner. We've been coming here our whole lives," Ayana said. "We're like, we got to get here early. We wanted the first and we picked 2:45."
Ayana said the second person came five minutes later.
Co-owner Debbie Doty says they saw lines during the pandemic, but nothing like this.
"Not down the street, not down to the intersection," she said. "That's something new."
Friday morning, a line with dozens of hungry customers stretched out to the intersection. The Heights Bakery has been serving sweets to the Columbia Heights community for 72 years and the family-owned company has been through four generations of Dotys and DeShaws.
After years of grueling overnight hours and six-day work weeks, Doty is ready for what's next. Even if it's bittersweet.
"I have three grandbabies, and I get to watch them grow up now. I missed a lot with my kids. I have four kids. I missed a lot with that. I get to do it all over with my grandkids now. That's going to be the funnest part," Doty said.
Doty says that while she and her brother David are hanging up the apron, it may not be the final chapter for the Heights Bakery. She says there's been some interest from others to step in and keep the legacy going.
"We like putting out a good product. We're in the business to make people happy, and sugar does it," Doty said.
For Tracy Leclaire, this last trip to Heights Bakery is about more than just a sweet treat.
"It reminds me of my grandpa," Leclaire said. "We used to always get donuts after church, and now I share this with my dad, and he loves donuts."
Owners announced the closure on social media at the end of last month, though there are potential new owners who want to keep the bakery's legacy alive.