Dough Boy's Bakery & Coffee Shop To Close
***Updated, below.***
After 40 years in business — 31 of those on Pearl Street — Dough Boy's Bakery & Coffee Shop will be closing at the end of July. A handwritten sign in the window proclaims the sad news: "Doughboy's is Retiring."
Owner Rod Boutin says that his landlord, Hinsdale Properties, will not renew his lease, and after all these years, he's not interested in moving. "I'm ready to call it quits," says Boutin, 76, during a phone interview this morning. "I've worked seven nights a week since 1969."
That year, Dough Boy's started in the K-Mart Plaza on Shelburne Road; it moved to 85-87 Pearl Street in 1978. Boutin expressed some regret that he had never purchased his building. "I've probably paid enough rent to buy this corner."
Boutin and his wife, who worked with him until four years ago, are both ready for a change of pace. "She's had her fill of it," he says. The business is for sale, though if Boutin doesn't find a buyer, some of the equipment will hit the auction block.
A phone call to Hinsdale was unanswered as of this morning.
Update, 3 p.m.:
Hinsdale Properties property manager Rebecca Lamire responds:
"We felt it was time to end their lease. They’ve been there since 1979 and pretty much under the same lease.We have kept their rent so low for so long to help them stay afloat," wrote Rebecca Lamire, Hinsdale's property manager, in a statement. "We always thought they would leave on their own. Obviously, costs have increased since then and we could not afford to continue to carry that. But, they are very dedicated workers. They’ve been a great tenant and addition to Burlington and we wish them the best."
Old school baker and a man of integrity. God Bless and have a great retirement.
Posted by: Tim | July 07, 2011 at 01:41 PM
Goodbye, sweet, sweet english muffin toast.
Posted by: Bill Simmon | July 07, 2011 at 01:54 PM
Wow, I will miss them! A true local institution, good eats and warm hearts.
Posted by: Mull-it | July 07, 2011 at 04:16 PM
Thank you for such kind words, I'll make sure to share this blog post with my grandparents. I'm sure they'll appreciate it too. :)
I know everyone in my family will miss serving the folks of Burlington after all these years. There is definitely something special about having a homestyle breakfast with friends and family on a weekend. I will miss sharing that time with everyone.
Posted by: Marissa | July 07, 2011 at 07:12 PM
That's funny. Was was just wishing this morning that I had more time so I could blog about this, so thanks for covering it. I learned Doughboy's was closing on Saturday from Pam Scanlon and Michael Neiderer next door at Radio Deli. Doughboy's is a magic diner. I used to eat there a lot in the nineties.
Posted by: Haik Bedrosian | July 07, 2011 at 09:02 PM
Will be missed. Lets send them out with a ton of business.
Posted by: Mike | July 07, 2011 at 09:25 PM
I remember as a child walking with my mother to Dough Boy's and getting cup cakes that were towering with a cream then covered with an icing, they were in the shapes of pigs and frogs. Honestly it was the highlight of my day when I got one of these!
Posted by: Barbara | July 08, 2011 at 07:30 AM
Industrial food in a wack atmosphere. Surprised Alice Eats never reviewed this place it's right up her alley. The building and the space could use redevelopment, so this is a perfect opportunity. I wish the Hinsdales well and let's get that block moving again!
Posted by: jules | July 08, 2011 at 09:21 AM
So after 32 years Hinsdale just terminates the lease? Come on, a few more years with minimal increases wouldn't of hurt. The building will probably sit empty like a lot of other spaces downtown. I am sure by them paying their lease, it helped Hinsdale so it wasn't a one way street like it appears from the response.
Good bye Doughboy. You will be missed.
Posted by: Vermonter | July 08, 2011 at 09:29 AM
"Obviously, costs have increased since then and we could not afford to continue to carry that."
Because after 30 years you don't own the building?
This is a real polite way of saying, well...we this property we should be getting more for rent from, let's boot the current tenants and find someone else. What a shitty move by HP, not unexpected necessarily but shitty nonetheless.
Enjoy your Retirement DoughBOys
Posted by: Jcarter | July 08, 2011 at 10:21 AM
When I was in middle school, my friend Tabatha's mother, Alice worked at Doughboy's and she would bring us there on our last day of school and we could order anything we wanted. I'll be sad to see Doughboy's go but I am glad to have that memory!!! (Hinsdale you may find that you did better with them than without them!)
Posted by: KR | July 08, 2011 at 02:43 PM
Doughboy's a Burlington institution. Thank you, Boutins, for so many years of deliciousness. We'll miss you.
Posted by: Tyler | July 08, 2011 at 03:55 PM
another example of big money winning over community needs. as much as i hate to see any properties in burlington go empty, i hope that this one sits empty long enough for hinsdale to appreciate the wrongness of their not renewing dough boy's lease for no other reason than that they weren't charging enough rent. boo, hinsdale. happy retirement, dough boy's. you will definitely be missed.
Posted by: bob | July 10, 2011 at 01:43 PM
Quick update for everyone who was thinking about stopping by for a last meal before they close... Doughboys will now be closed as of the 18th.
Posted by: Marissa | July 10, 2011 at 06:04 PM
As a fellow property owner, I would just like to add that real estate in Burlington is expensive to own and maintain. Doughboy's is probably having its lease terminated for good reason. If the costs of maintenance and taxes were not being sufficiently covered by rent (which they were probably getting behind on), the course of action anyone would take, would be ending the lease. I seriously doubt that HP would end any commercial lease without first finding someone to take over the vacancy immediately. That's just my take.
Posted by: J. | July 12, 2011 at 12:36 PM
We'll update this story in tomorrow's Side Dishes column.
Posted by: Corin | July 12, 2011 at 12:39 PM
Agreeing with J. Please don't bash Hindsdale. It sounds like they've kept the rent low for them, which is very, very generous in a city with high property taxes and other high costs of doing business. The owners of DB were toying with the idea of retirement a few years ago, so this isn't necessarily a kick to the curb. They're sweet folks who had a good run.
Posted by: J.H. | July 12, 2011 at 05:00 PM
Burlington is rapidly becoming a small city-town with huge abandonment issues. In a year or two more there will be more leavings of Burlington businesses.
Let's Lower Taxes
Posted by: S | July 13, 2011 at 09:50 PM
As friends for many years we both are saddened at this news. Have visited with the Boutins since they were at the K-Mart Plaza. Many a trucker, police officer, and John Q Public have many good memories of the Boutin establishment. Friends like them are hard to come by. You have enriched all you hve come in contacr with and if this move towards retirement grants you more down/relaxing time for fishing or whatever....then it is a move worthwhile. Many well wishers will join in a loud chorus of WE WILL MISS YOU AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE FOR US ALL. Hinesdale, you may have kept the rent low, but you did nothing to enrich nor improve the site. Any renovation, repairs were done by the Boutins. Like the K-Mart theatre area, your business shall remain empty and your dis-service to the Boutins will not go unnoticed!
Posted by: Gerald & Sharon Cloutier | July 16, 2011 at 05:21 PM