Donuts return to Newton Maid-Rite menu after 3-year hiatus

When word got around that donuts would be returning to the Newton Maid-Rite breakfast menu starting April 1, there were more than a few people who thought it was some kind of cruel April Fools’ Day joke. As your trusty community journalist, I had to fact check this for myself the first chance I got.

It is with great pleasure to confirm the downtown Newton restaurant has not only brought back the customer favorite, they are just as delicious and popular as they were before new management dropped them from the menu in 2021. Leadership changed again last year, so it was a matter of time before the donuts returned.

Lori Ganoe, who has worked at the restaurant for more than 40 years and now serves as its manager, said customers wasted no time this past Monday lining up at the drive-thru window of the Newton Maid-Rite, which has also gone by the name Mr. Dan’s Sandwich Shop and Sandwiches Made Right (or was it Rite?).

When it looked like the Maid-Rite was going to close back in summer 2023, an undisclosed community member stepped up and bought the place. The new owner and Ganoe both wanted to bring back donuts, which had become a staple breakfast item for many people living or working in Newton.

“We’ve got a new donut machine now, and it’s got a conveyer belt,” Ganoe said. “But it’s not as fast. I did them a lot faster on my smaller machine. I flipped them myself and just did them better. It’s just taking a while to get used to this machine. I know once I get used to it it will be better. I just gotta get used to it.”

Which is why staff are recommending customers call Maid-Rite ahead of time with their orders. How far in advance? Ganoe said one day before is preferred. That way employees can make sure there are enough donuts to go around and spur-of-the-moment customers won’t be disappointed to know they sold out.

Selling out is a strong possibility, too. Customers can’t get enough of Maid-Rite’s warm donuts, which can either be coated in sugar/cinnamon sugar or slathered in vanilla, chocolate or caramel frosting and then topped with sprinkles, crushed nuts or coconut. They’re simple, but then again Maid-Rite thrives on simplicity.

In addition to serving donuts for breakfast, Maid-Rite also offers cinnamon rolls and biscuits and gravy in the mornings. Can’t get more simple than that. Even so, the demand for donuts can be challenging to meet, especially when customers start arriving before the restaurant even technically opens its doors for operation.

“I’m usually here by 5 in the morning and I’ll have some ready by 6 o’clock. Our hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. but if they want to come in earlier or come by the window I’ll serve ‘em,” Ganoe said. “I won’t turn no one down. I’m glad we have donuts back, and I like these hours because I’m a morning person.”

The first morning the donuts returned to Maid-Rite, Ganoe said the restaurant was “pretty busy.” Customers were ringing the drive-thru window by 6 a.m.

“I knew we were going to be busy at first,” Ganoe said. “But we were a lot busier than I thought we would have. Any donuts I have left over will be picked up at lunch and dinner. People will come in and eat dinner and then have a donut for their dessert. That’s just a given. I know that will happen.”

But that all depends on if there will be any left past breakfast.

To make your donut orders at Newton Maid-Rite, call at least one day ahead at 641-792-4166.