Cops & Doughnuts is one of a kind

Posted by Bill on Tuesday, May 11, 2010   |   6 Comments

When Greg Rynearson, a policeman in Clare, Michigan, overheard that the Clare City Bakery was closing, he knew he had to do something. After all, the bakery had been a Clare fixture since 1896. Only the grain elevator and the local hardware had been in business in the city in the same location longer.

“It was the last week in May of last year,” Greg told me over a cup of coffee. “After I heard the news, I headed back to work. Over lunch we started talking about what we could do about it. The bakery was supposed to close on July 1.”

The “we” Greg spoke of was the entire nine-member police department of Clare, Michigan: the chief of police, his administrative assistant, two sergeants and five officers. “We ripped a cover off a pizza box and started to write stuff down. That pizza box cover became our business plan.”

The plan was simple enough. Every member of the police department would chip in an equal amount to buy the bakery. They were betting on a hunch—the idea that a bakery leveraging the endless jokes about cops and their doughnuts would be just quirky enough to catch on. Or take off, if you will.

Known around the world

The result was Cops & Doughnuts, probably the only cop-owned doughnut joint anywhere. “We approached this like police business and just sent out a news release,” said Greg. Fox News came calling and brought their TV camera. Cops & Doughnuts hit CNN and enjoyed exposure literally around the world. Several local TV outlets came to do stories. So did newspapers and other print pubs.

The cop-owned doughnut shop caught the attention of news hounds at World News Now and Good Morning, America. In the space of a few days, a quirky idea in a small northern Michigan town had become a full-fledged phenom.

It’s ironic that the vintage bakery and the old pharmacy next door were rumored to have been hangouts of Detroit’s notorious Purple Gang. Now the place is owned by police officers.

“Felony Fritters” and more

As I sat with Greg Rynearson amid racks of Cops & Doughnuts t-shirts and other paraphernalia—all labeled with cop-oriented lines (“DWI—Donuts Were Involved” and “Handcuffs and Cream Puffs,” for example), Bill Horwood, a Clare city commissioner wandered over. “People from all over the state are talking about this. It’s helping the whole town.”

A well known coffee roaster is distributing a Cops brand of coffee to several grocery chains. “We’re going to add a dark roast and call it ‘Midnight Shift,’” said Greg straight-faced. There’s also talk of Cops Cookies and/or a Cops Cookie mix.

These, of course, will round out the full line of doughnuts, elephant years, cinnamon rolls, “felony fritters,” and assorted other sweet treats, including a bacon (yep, bacon—two strips) longjohn that tastes surprisingly like pancakes and bacon.

I went on a Tuesday, so the crowd was light. But if you plan to check it out on a weekend, expect to wait in line. “We put about 1,200 through here on a Saturday alone,” Greg said.

Only in America, eh?

Photo courtesy of the Cops & Doughnuts

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Tagged with food / beverage, Michigan, Midwest

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