Chicago donuts made the old fashioned way

Buritt Bulloch, founder and owner of the Old Fashioned Donuts shop, shows off his famous glaze donuts he makes from scratch daily at his South Side restaurant. Photo by Wendell Hutson
Buritt Bulloch, founder and owner of the Old Fashioned Donuts shop, shows off his famous glaze donuts he makes from scratch daily at his South Side restaurant. Photo by Wendell Hutson

Chicago donuts made the old fashioned way

BY WENDELL HUTSON, Contributing Writer

After briefly working at two other donut shops, Buritt Bulloch opened up his own shop, and now nearly 50 years later, he still makes his famous donuts the old fashioned way.

At age 80, “Mr. B” as family, friends and customers call him, works six days and 60 hours a week at Old Fashioned Donuts, 11248 S. Michigan Ave., which he started Nov. 4, 1972.

The widow, who was married to his late wife for 50 years, said one reason he works so much is to stay busy. The donut shop is located in a 15,000 square-foot building he purchased 35 years ago. Shop hours are from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed on Sundays.

“It’s hard for you to get in trouble when you are at work,” he jokingly said. “I arrive at the shop at 6 a.m. and leave around 7:30 p.m. That is my normal schedule, so now you know where to find me during the week.”

But within the next three to five years, Bulloch said he plans to step back and let his two daughters run the business full-time.

“I don’t want to call it retirement but I’m getting too old for this and it’s time to hand it off to the next generation,” said Bulloch. “My daughters and granddaughter work here with me and they will be the ones who carry on the family business after me.”

Like most businesses operating costs, such as payroll, have risen dramatically since the shop opened, explained Bulloch.

“My biggest expense is payroll, which runs about $7,000 a week, for the 11 people who work here,” said Bulloch. “We used to sell donuts 13 cents each and now it’s $1.14. And a dozen donuts were sold for $1.50 when we first opened but now it is $12.82.”

Donut flavors sold include coconut, glaze, chocolate, custard, lemon, and strawberry. Bulloch said the most popular donut sold is glaze and he makes the glaze from scratch.

“Me personally, I like the cake donut especially in the morning with my coffee,” added Bulloch.

A lot of customers like Sharon Hart, 67, grew up eating at the donut shop, which also has a grill menu that includes hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, fried chicken, and pizza puffs.

“I remember coming here with my friends every Friday after school to get two chocolate donuts and hang out in Roseland,” recalled Hart, who attended nearby Curtis Elementary School. It’s good to see this place is still open despite hard times this neighborhood has experienced.”

Truck driver Christopher King, 41, said he always stops by the shop when he is in Chicago.

“I live in Ohio but my route takes me through Chicago at least once a week, and when I do come this way I make it a point to pick up a chocolate long john (donut),” said King. “The donuts here are made fresh and that’s why I keep coming back.”

Regular customers are not the only ones who frequent the donut shop. The homeless often make their way to the shop as well.

“That’s an everyday occurrence. We get guys who will say they just got out of prison and are hungry,” said Bulloch. “We give them something to eat all the time. I’m a guy who’d rather give than to receive.”

Most commercial buildings on South Michigan Avenue nowadays are vacant unlike when the donut shop first opened and many businesses were up and running. Still, Bulloch has chosen not to move the shop elsewhere.

“I thought about it [relocating] but I decided against it because of costs and the fact that my customers are used to coming to this location,” said Bulloch.

Bulloch, who lives in south suburban Crete with his 55-year-old girlfriend of five-years, said these days he is enjoying life day by day.

“I loved my wife but when she passed away I decided my next relationship would be with a younger woman. Yes, my girlfriend is much younger than me. And while dating a younger woman may cost you more, it’s well worth it,” said Bulloch.

Born in the South, Bulloch left Holly Springs, Mississippi in the early 1960s and came to Chicago where he began working at Amy Joy, a West Rogers Park donut shop. Working there is where he realized his skill set for making donuts. Seven years later, Bulloch left to go work at a Huck Finn donut shop and from there he went into business for himself.

Old Fashioned Donuts is different from other donut makers like Dunkin and Krispy Kreme, contends Bulloch.

“I make my donuts with love and you taste it with every bite,” he said. “That’s what separates me from all other donut shops.”

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