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The new owner of Detroit's beloved Dutch Girl Donuts on Woodward Avenue near 7 Mile Road says it will reopen in early 2024. The shop closed in September 2021.
“My family has loved Dutch Girl since before I was born,” new owner Paddy Lynch, a third-generation funeral director with Lynch & Sons and owner of Detroit’s historic bathhouse The Schvitz, said in a press release issued Tuesday. “I’m extremely grateful, honored and excited to carry this local favorite forward for the Timmer family.”
“Dutch Girl Donuts is an institution for many Detroiters,” says Lynch.
The late owners' son, Jon Timmer, who had been baking donuts in the family shop for 20 years, will stay on to make the donuts, the release said.
“Dutch Girl Donuts is an institution for many Detroiters,” says Lynch. “I’m looking forward to this journey and to working with Jon Timmer to get Dutch Girl up and running."
Dutch Girl Donuts closed in September 2021 in the midst of the pandemic, and after the passing of owner Gene Timmer.
Earlier this year, the family put the business and the building up for sale. After 30 offers, the family chose Lynch.
Cecelia and John Timmer started the donut shop in 1947. It was originally called Dixie Cream Donuts, a franchise outlet, and was near the State Fairgrounds. In 1950, they moved a half-mile south to a newly constructed shop, which is where it stands today.
In the mid-1950s, they broke away from the franchise and became Dutch Girl Donuts.
In 1965, John Timmer passed away and his son Gene, a 1964 graduate of West Bloomfield High School, took over.
Gene Timmer died last Sept. 17 from cancer, just weeks after the shop hit the pause button. His son, Jon Timmer, a third-generation donut-maker, had been helping manage the shop.
