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    Candidates Face the People: Southwest Detroit Hosts Powerful Mayoral Forum on Community Priorities

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    Protecting Our Vote: Facts in the Face of Fear

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    Linzie and Jesse Venegas of Ideal Group Recognized as Entrepreneurs Of The Year 2025

    Linzie and Jesse Venegas of Ideal Group Recognized as Entrepreneurs Of The Year 2025

    George Carrillo speaks to attendees at the Real Talk series about his immigration policy recommendations for the construction industry, titled "Building America Stronger." Photo: Juan Carlos Dueweke-Perez, Featherstone.

    “This Is Our Moment”: National Latino Construction Leader Visits Detroit to Highlight Labor Crisis and Policy Solutions

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    CitizenDetroit Launches Free Online Platform that Enables Detroit Voters to Hear Directly from Detroit Candidates

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    Candidates Face the People: Southwest Detroit Hosts Powerful Mayoral Forum on Community Priorities

    Candidates Face the People: Southwest Detroit Hosts Powerful Mayoral Forum on Community Priorities

    MANA de Metro Detroit Celebrates 30 Years of Latina Leadership and Legacy

    A jubilee pilgrimage of hope through the Basilica of Ste. Anne

    A jubilee pilgrimage of hope through the Basilica of Ste. Anne

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    Stellantis Hosts “Thrilling” MHCC Networking Event

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    Fr. David Buersmeyer y Mrs. Judith Brooks de Strangers No Longer / hablan a los participantes de la procesión frente a la oficina de campo de ICE en Detroit / address procession participants in front of the field office of ICE in Detroit. Foto de/Photo by Valaurian Waller | Detroit Catholic

    Detroit Catholics Walk in Solidarity with Immigrants, Demand Humane Treatment

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    Candidates Face the People: Southwest Detroit Hosts Powerful Mayoral Forum on Community Priorities

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    Detroit Catholics Walk in Solidarity with Immigrants, Demand Humane Treatment

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    Linzie and Jesse Venegas of Ideal Group Recognized as Entrepreneurs Of The Year 2025

    George Carrillo speaks to attendees at the Real Talk series about his immigration policy recommendations for the construction industry, titled "Building America Stronger." Photo: Juan Carlos Dueweke-Perez, Featherstone.

    “This Is Our Moment”: National Latino Construction Leader Visits Detroit to Highlight Labor Crisis and Policy Solutions

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    El Arzobispo Edward J. Weisenburger dirige las oraciones durante una Misa en memoria del papa Francisco el 21 de abril en la Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament en Detroit. El papa Francisco, quien ha liderado la Iglesia católica desde 2013, murió la madrugada del lunes, el día después del Domingo de Pascua. (Foto de Valaurian Waller | Detroit Catholic)

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Donut Villa Expands to Second Location Near Ford Rouge Plant

Michael Gutierrez by Michael Gutierrez
July 31, 2025
in Featured, Local Small Business, Restaurants
Reading Time: 18 mins read
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Gabriel Gutierrez has officially expanded Donut Villa for the first time in the shop’s 50-year history. “Donut Villa 2” opened its doors at the corner of Oakwood and Schaefer last week, Wednesday, July 23rd.

Walk into the 25-seat space and “the first thing that hits you in the face is… a wall of donuts”  – just like Gutierrez intended – in a display case from the original, pre-renovated Donut Villa (which Gutierrez refers to as “DV1”). Patrons can expect a wide selection of glazed and filled donuts for $1.89, and fresh-ground coffee that starts at $2.59 a cup. Gutierrez kept many of the design elements inspired by his Cavalry and West Vernor location, including orange and birch accents, greenery—even Wayne, a regular customer, who sits outside in a patio chair testing out the new spot’s coffee on this first day of operation. “I just wanted to capture a feeling where people felt comfortable, a bit of a second living room kind of feeling,” explained Gutierrez. Behind the building is the Marathon crude oil refinery and its sprawling array of transmission towers and power lines, and just up Schaefer is the 600-acre Ford Rouge Complex where about 6,000 Ford employees work—one of the main reasons Gutierrez decided to open shop here.

Gutierrez’s former classmates and friends arrive unexpectedly during the soft opening of Donut Villa 2
Gutierrez’s former classmates and friends arrive unexpectedly during the soft opening of Donut Villa 2

“There’s a lot of people that go to work in this area, and usually those jobs are long shift jobs,” said Gutierrez. “Hopefully we’ll be able to tap into that market here like some of the other businesses in this area, so we’re just opening up and trying to fit into the community here and see where we’re at.”

It’s 1:20pm on opening day—they’ve been open since 5am. Gutierrez wears a version of his daily uniform: a collared shirt and ASICS running shoes, a must-have when his duties as the owner and operator of two donut and coffee shops easily rack up over 10K steps a day. When I arrived, he was experiencing technical difficulties with his Toast POS system, which meant my donut and coffee came free—this time. Should Gutierrez decide to collect, he knows where to find me. We’re brothers. While I always knew my big brother Gabe to be ambitious and entrepreneurial, I never quite predicted his aspirations as Southwest’s go-to man for donuts and coffee. He hadn’t, either.

“I didn’t necessarily think that I was going to be a donut operator,” he recalled. “Really, the main reason I took over Donut Villa, outside of it being a good business, was that it’s just a staple of the community in Southwest Detroit. So, really, it was just keeping something going that had already been going for 40 years.” Those decisions were made in 2018, when Donut Villa’s original owners approached him about taking it over. Seven years later, he’s soft-opening his second location within the city limits.

“I didn’t plan on it,” Gutierrez says about his new location on the border of Detroit and Melvindale. “And that’s kind of just how these things happen. When you’re running a business, when an opportunity arises, you either take it or let it pass.” The opportunity to expand came through a chance encounter with the property owner who had mentioned the building’s history. According to Gutierrez, there used to be a donut shop at this location—Jim’s Donut Shop, which later became a Tubby’s, then Laurent Coney Island, which closed coming out of COVID. “I was like, well, that’s interesting. And just like with Donut Villa 1, you take one step and then another, and then next thing you know you’re opening up another shop.”

Focused and efficient, longtime employee Linda Sue Hoskins readies the counter for the next rush.
Focused and efficient, longtime employee Linda Sue Hoskins readies the counter for the next rush.

Gutierrez says the real inspiration came from family wisdom shared by a cousin in Texas who owns several restaurants. “One of the stories he told me was that one of the most difficult and scariest things he had to do in business was grow from one restaurant to the second because he couldn’t be in two places at once. But he knew that if he was going to build the life that he wanted for his family, he was going to have to open not just one more, but many more, and he didn’t really know how to do it until he just did it. And I used that as my inspiration to take the same step.” 

It’s taken Gutierrez about 18 months to open up shop, which “seems to be the magic number. That’s how long it took to open up the other shop after the renovation started.” Gutierrez called the renovation process of the original Donut Villa “a beatdown,” and admitted that the primary lesson he learned and applied to opening this location was patience. “Unless you have a really, really big capital stack, which not many small business owners have access to – which I didn’t have access to – then you have to move at the pace that you can self-finance… There’s only 24 hours in a day and only so much money in the bank account.”

Gutierrez lamented that the bureaucratic red tape of opening a business in the city of Detroit contributed to that 18-month-long timetable, a story he’s heard come from businesses of all kinds about growing within Detroit. “It’s definitely a process that needs to be simplified. I probably will refrain from opening another shop unless it becomes a little bit easier.” 

It’s an unfortunate reality that stymies his vision for the Donut Villa brand, which he aspires to model after Better Made or Faygo, “who have branded themselves as Detroit staples.” Our mother, Lydia Gutierrez, who owns and operates Hacienda Mexican Foods, was similarly inspired by those companies, creating a “313” line of tortillas and chips marketed directly toward Detroiters and Michiganders. “I think I only ever want to put the Donut Villas within the city limits and just make it a Detroit thing,” says Gutierrez. But whether or not that will pan out depends on the success of his second location, as well as delegating some of his daily responsibilities. “You have to have people that are working and producing and creating real value with their work… all of the planning and paperwork and administration—I do that for now. Maybe if I can get this place off the ground I can hire someone to do that kind of stuff.”

Fresh coffee gets made on-site, but the donuts travel daily from DV1 just down the road. Turning the kitchen into a bakery would have required upwards of $100,00 worth of new equipment. “So instead… we’re using our open capacity at Donut Villa 1 to make donuts and bring them over here—fresh, every single day,” explains Gutierrez. “Instead of making 60 or 70 pounds of dough, we’re making 80 or 90.” The early morning pickup time ensures the quality remains consistent to what regulars are used to chowing down on. “The donuts are made at the same time as the donuts that we use at our other location, and then we just pick them up at 4:30 in the morning and drive them over here and put them on the shelf… Same process, same mix, same everything.”

Success at the new location means replicating what he’s pulled off at Donut Villa 1 through both numbers and by creating a third place for the area’s factory workers—an informal gathering spot outside of home (first place) and work (second place) where people can relax and build community.

“If I could get that up to close to what we’re doing at Donut Villa 1, that’d be really great. So I’d consider a really big milestone, maybe 100 customers in a day,” explains Gutierrez. “Another marker would be that we just develop the same community feeling with the customers here that we have in Southwest, where people really feel like we’re a part of their day. I would love nothing more than that here.”

The challenge differs from his original location, which already functioned as an unofficial city hall for much of the community along West Vernor when Gutierrez came into ownership of the business in 2018. “Donut Villa has been here for almost 50 years, seven of which under me, and it’ll be here for the next 25 because it’s built on solid business values and business model,” explains Gutierrez. “We do get around by word of mouth. I don’t have to run promotions and discounts to get people in the door, because people appreciate the business and the product that we put out there, and the people that provide it.” Nevertheless, building a new clientele from scratch may require a fresh approach that embraces marketing at more than just the brick and mortar location, which already boasts a wealth of “Now Open” banners and signs advertising the business and its products to street traffic. 

Either way, after 18 months of preparation, Gutierrez says opening day feels like a weight off his shoulders—but also introduces the new pressure of operating the location. “This is the real test. Are we going to have the customers and have the success here that we had at Donut Villa 1? The opening has now been taken off my shoulders, but operating… it’s just been put on.” Gutierrez is already over a year into his three-year lease, and future expansion depends on multiple factors, and maybe even a bit of personal growth. “Who knows, by the time [the lease is over] I’ll be 35 and maybe I’ll have grown up a little bit and we’ll do something else. I don’t know.”

For now, Donut Villa 2 is open Monday through Sunday, from 5am to 5pm, which is three hours later than the closing time of the West Vernor location. Gutierrez admits those hours may shift once customer patterns become clear, but “at the very least we’ll be open Monday to Friday, and we’ll be open 5am to serve those going into work and before work, and into the afternoon.” Donut Villa 2 will be open with a limited menu, but Gutierrez hopes that in the beginning of August, he’ll be able to introduce the full lineup of the shop’s signature offerings. 

While the location won’t offer lotto tickets, what you can bet your dollar on is fresh donuts making their journey from the West Vernor location every day at 4:30am, carrying 50 years of community and tradition into a new neighborhood, one customer at a time.

This article and photos were  made possible thanks to a generous grant to EL CENTRAL Hispanic News by Press Forward, the national movement to strengthen communities by reinvigorating local news. Learn more at www.pressforward.news.

Donut Villa abre segunda tienda cerca de la planta Ford Rouge

Audio en Español

Gabriel Gutierrez ha expandido oficialmente Donut Villa por primera vez en sus cincuenta años de historia. “Donut Villa 2” abrió sus puertas el miércoles, 23 de julio, en la esquina de Oakwood y Schaefer.

Al entrar en el nuevo espacio de veinticinco asientos, lo primero que te recibe es… una pared de donas, tal como Gutierrez lo imaginó. Están en una vitrina que vino directamente de la Donut Villa original, antes de su renovación (a la que Gutierrez se refiere como “DV1”). Los clientes pueden encontrar una gran variedad de donas glaseadas y rellenas a $1.89, y café recién molido desde $2.59. Gutierrez mantuvo muchos de los detalles visuales inspirados por su tienda en Cavalry y West Vernor, incluyendo tonos anaranjados y madera clara, plantas, e incluso a Wayne, un cliente de siempre, quien ya está sentado afuera en una silla probando el café del nuevo local en su primer día. “Solo quería que se sintiera cómodo, como una segunda sala de estar,” explicó Gutierrez.

Gutierrez’s former classmates and friends arrive unexpectedly during the soft opening of Donut Villa 2
Gutierrez’s former classmates and friends arrive unexpectedly during the soft opening of Donut Villa 2

Detrás del edificio está la refinería de crudo de Marathon con sus torres eléctricas y líneas de alta tensión. Un poco más adelante por Schaefer está el complejo Ford Rouge, con sus seiscientas acres y unos seis mil trabajadores de Ford, una de las razones principales por las que Gutierrez decidió abrir ahí.

“Hay mucha gente que trabaja por esta zona, y muchos de esos trabajos son de turnos largos,” dijo Gutierrez. “Ojalá podamos conectar con ese mercado, como lo han hecho otros negocios por aquí. Apenas estamos empezando y viendo cómo encajamos en la comunidad.”

Son la una y veinte de la tarde del día de apertura—y llevan abiertos desde las cinco de la mañana. Gutierrez lleva puesto lo que ya es su uniforme diario: camisa de botones y unos tenis ASICS, necesarios para aguantar los más de diez mil pasos que da al día manejando dos tiendas de donas y café. Cuando llegué, tenía problemas técnicos con el sistema de ventas (Toast POS), así que mis donas y mi café fueron cortesía de la casa—esta vez. Si decide cobrármelos, sabe dónde encontrarme. Somos hermanos.

Siempre supe que mi hermano mayor Gabe era ambicioso y emprendedor, pero nunca pensé que llegaría a ser el nombre que todos asocian con donas y café en el Southwest. Tampoco era parte de su plan.

“No pensé que iba a terminar siendo dueño de una tienda de donas,” recordó. “La razón principal por la que tomé Donut Villa, aparte de que era un buen negocio, es porque ya era parte de la comunidad en Southwest Detroit. Fue más bien mantener viva una tradición de cuarenta años.” Eso fue en dos mil dieciocho, cuando los dueños originales le ofrecieron pasarle la tienda. Siete años después, está abriendo su segunda ubicación, aún dentro de los límites de la ciudad.

“No lo planeé,” dice sobre su nueva tienda, en la frontera entre Detroit y Melvindale. “Y así es como pasa a veces. Cuando estás manejando un negocio, si se presenta una oportunidad, o la tomas o la dejas pasar.” Esta oportunidad surgió gracias a una charla casual con el dueño del local, quien le mencionó que antes había habido una tienda de donas ahí—Jim’s Donut Shop, que luego fue un Tubby’s, y después un Laurent Coney Island que cerró tras la pandemia. “Pensé: ‘Qué interesante.’ Y como pasó con Donut Villa 1, das un paso, luego otro… y cuando te das cuenta, ya abriste otra tienda.”

Focused and efficient, longtime employee Linda Sue Hoskins readies the counter for the next rush.
Focused and efficient, longtime employee Linda Sue Hoskins readies the counter for the next rush.

Gutierrez cuenta que una inspiración clave vino de un primo en Texas, dueño de varios restaurantes. “Él me dijo que el paso más difícil y más aterrador fue abrir su segundo restaurante, porque ya no podía estar en dos lugares a la vez. Pero si quería darle una mejor vida a su familia, tenía que crecer, aunque no supiera cómo… hasta que lo hizo. Y usé esa historia como inspiración para dar el mismo paso.”

Abrir la nueva tienda le tomó cerca de dieciocho meses—el mismo tiempo que le tomó renovar Donut Villa 1. Llamó aquel proceso de renovación “una paliza” y dijo que la lección más grande que aprendió fue tener paciencia. “A menos que tengas una pila enorme de dinero para invertir—que la mayoría de los pequeños negocios no tienen, y yo no tenía—tienes que avanzar al ritmo que puedas autofinanciar… Solo hay 24 horas en un día y una cantidad limitada en la cuenta del banco.”

También mencionó que la burocracia de abrir un negocio en la ciudad de Detroit fue parte de lo que causó esa larga espera, algo que ha escuchado de muchos otros dueños. “Es un proceso que definitivamente debería ser más simple.”

Esa burocracia pone en pausa su visión de hacer de Donut Villa una marca tipo Better Made o Faygo, empresas que se convirtieron en símbolos de Detroit. Nuestra mamá, Lydia Gutierrez, quien dirige Hacienda Mexican Foods, también se inspiró en esas marcas al crear su línea de tortillas y totopos “313” hecha especialmente para Detroit y Michigan. “Creo que solo quiero abrir Donut Villas dentro de los límites de Detroit y que sea algo muy de aquí,” dice Gutierrez. Pero para que eso funcione, el éxito de esta nueva tienda es clave—y también el poder delegar más. “Tienes que tener gente trabajando, produciendo y creando valor real con su trabajo… Yo por ahora hago todo el papeleo, la planeación y la administración. Si esta tienda despega, tal vez ya pueda contratar a alguien para eso.”

El café se prepara en la tienda, pero las donas llegan frescas cada mañana desde DV1, ubicada a unas cuadras. Convertir la cocina en panadería hubiera requerido más de cien mil dólares en equipo nuevo. “Así que mejor… estamos usando la capacidad de producción que ya tenemos en Donut Villa 1 para hacer las donas y traerlas aquí, frescas todos los días,” explica Gutierrez. “En vez de hacer sesenta o setenta libras de masa, ahora hacemos ochenta o noventa.” Las recogen a las cuatro y media de la mañana, garantizando la misma calidad que los clientes ya conocen. “Se hacen al mismo tiempo que las otras, con la misma mezcla, el mismo proceso, todo igual.”

El éxito de esta tienda significaría lograr lo que ya hizo con Donut Villa 1: buenos números y convertirse en un “tercer lugar” para los trabajadores de la zona—un espacio fuera de casa (el primer lugar) y el trabajo (el segundo), donde puedan relajarse y conectar con otros. “Si llegáramos a tener lo mismo que en Donut Villa 1, sería un gran logro. Tal vez cien clientes por día,” dice Gutierrez. “Otro objetivo sería crear la misma vibra de comunidad que tenemos en Southwest, donde los clientes sientan que somos parte de su rutina. Eso me encantaría.”

El reto aquí es diferente. En su primera tienda ya había una clientela fiel, y el negocio funcionaba como una especie de ayuntamiento no oficial del vecindario. “Donut Villa lleva casi cincuenta años aquí, siete de los cuales bajo mi mando, y va a seguir otros veinticinco porque está basada en buenos valores y buen modelo de negocio,” explica. “Nos damos a conocer de boca en boca. No necesito hacer promociones o descuentos para atraer gente, porque la gente valora el producto y a las personas que lo sirven.” Aun así, para construir clientela desde cero tal vez tenga que apoyarse más en marketing, más allá de los carteles de “Ya Abrimos” que adornan la fachada.

Después de dieciocho meses de trabajo, Gutierrez dice que el día de apertura fue como quitarse un peso de encima—pero también marcó el inicio de una nueva presión: operar el local. “Esta es la verdadera prueba. ¿Tendremos la clientela y el éxito que tuvimos en Donut Villa 1? El peso de abrir ya me lo quité, pero ahora tengo el de operar.” Ya pasó más de un año del contrato de tres años que firmó, y su expansión futura dependerá de muchos factores… y tal vez de un poco de crecimiento personal. “Quién sabe, para cuando se acabe el contrato ya voy a tener treinta y cinco años y tal vez habré madurado un poco y me anime a hacer otra cosa. No sé.”

Por ahora, Donut Villa 2 está abierta de lunes a domingo, de 5am a 5pm, tres horas más que la ubicación en West Vernor. Gutierrez admite que los horarios podrían cambiar según vea los hábitos de los clientes, pero asegura que al menos abrirán de lunes a viernes, desde temprano para atender a los trabajadores de la zona. Aunque el local tiene un menú limitado por ahora, él espera que a principios de agosto ya puedan ofrecer todo el menú completo.

No se venden boletos de lotería, pero lo que sí puedes apostar es que las donas llegan fresquecitas cada mañana desde West Vernor a las cuatro y media, trayendo consigo cincuenta años de historia, sabor y comunidad… ahora en un nuevo barrio, una dona a la vez.

Tags: Southwest Detroit
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