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    Teens engaged in activism become better critical thinkers, U-M study finds

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    State’s First Historical Marker Honoring Mexican Community to be Placed in Southwest Detroit September 29

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    10 reasons to feel proud this Hispanic Heritage Month

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    Chicano Fest: Celebrating History and Brown Pride

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    Muralist from Southwest Detroit Receives Prestigious Kresge Artist Fellowship

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    Approximately 1,200 people Shouted ¡Viva México! in Mexicantown, Detroit

    Approximately 1,200 people Shouted ¡Viva México! in Mexicantown, Detroit

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EL CENTRAL Hispanic News
  • Home
  • About
    • Introducing the partnership with the Race and Justice reporting Initiative
  • Español
    Approximately 1,200 people Shouted ¡Viva México! in Mexicantown, Detroit

    Approximately 1,200 people Shouted ¡Viva México! in Mexicantown, Detroit

    10 reasons to feel proud this Hispanic Heritage Month

    10 reasons to feel proud this Hispanic Heritage Month

    Chicano Fest: Celebrating History and Brown Pride

    Chicano Fest: Celebrating History and Brown Pride

    Southwest Detroit Organizations Launch ‘Building a Healthy Future’ Campaign

    Southwest Detroit Organizations Launch ‘Building a Healthy Future’ Campaign

    El Chinchorreo: Detroit’s Day Under the Caribbean Sun

    El Chinchorreo: Detroit’s Day Under the Caribbean Sun

    Muralist from Southwest Detroit Receives Prestigious Kresge Artist Fellowship

    Muralist from Southwest Detroit Receives Prestigious Kresge Artist Fellowship

    Small Businesses Remain Bullish Despite Economic and Labor Concerns

    Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, Once Called a Man of Mystery, Leaves Behind a Prolific Legacy

    Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, Once Called a Man of Mystery, Leaves Behind a Prolific Legacy

    Teens engaged in activism become better critical thinkers, U-M study finds

    Teens engaged in activism become better critical thinkers, U-M study finds

  • Community
    State’s First Historical Marker Honoring Mexican Community to be Placed in Southwest Detroit September 29

    State’s First Historical Marker Honoring Mexican Community to be Placed in Southwest Detroit September 29

    Vince Murray, Godfather of Stanton Park, Honored

    The Godfrey Hotel Detroit & I/O Rooftop Lounge Opens

    The Godfrey Hotel Detroit & I/O Rooftop Lounge Opens

    Michigan Carpenters and Millwrights Unveil Schools to Tools Mobile Field Trip Trailer at Labor Day Event

    Michigan Carpenters and Millwrights Unveil Schools to Tools Mobile Field Trip Trailer at Labor Day Event

    Southwest Detroit Organizations Launch ‘Building a Healthy Future’ Campaign

    Southwest Detroit Organizations Launch ‘Building a Healthy Future’ Campaign

    Final Steps in Gordie Howe International Bridge Tower Construction Underway

    Final Steps in Gordie Howe International Bridge Tower Construction Underway

    Engaging Detroit:  Rep. Rashida Tlaib creates Youth Civic Engagement Fellowship

    Engaging Detroit: Rep. Rashida Tlaib creates Youth Civic Engagement Fellowship

    Copa Motor City Raises Nearly $10,000 for Clark Park Coalition in 8th Annual Soccer Tournament

    Copa Motor City Raises Nearly $10,000 for Clark Park Coalition in 8th Annual Soccer Tournament

    El Chinchorreo: Detroit’s Day Under the Caribbean Sun

    El Chinchorreo: Detroit’s Day Under the Caribbean Sun

  • Featured
    10 reasons to feel proud this Hispanic Heritage Month

    10 reasons to feel proud this Hispanic Heritage Month

    Chicano Fest: Celebrating History and Brown Pride

    Chicano Fest: Celebrating History and Brown Pride

    Muralist from Southwest Detroit Receives Prestigious Kresge Artist Fellowship

    Muralist from Southwest Detroit Receives Prestigious Kresge Artist Fellowship

    Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, Once Called a Man of Mystery, Leaves Behind a Prolific Legacy

    Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, Once Called a Man of Mystery, Leaves Behind a Prolific Legacy

    Your Guide to a Career in Green Mobility in Detroit

    Your Guide to a Career in Green Mobility in Detroit

    MANA de Metro Detroit Annual Brindis Luncheon Celebrates and Supports Area Latinas

    MANA de Metro Detroit Annual Brindis Luncheon Celebrates and Supports Area Latinas

    Southwest Detroit and Mexicantown –

    Southwest Detroit and Mexicantown –

    Beautifully Revamped Roosevelt Park Unites Corktown and Mexicantown

    Beautifully Revamped Roosevelt Park Unites Corktown and Mexicantown

    Renovations Transform Clark Park into First Class Neighborhood Recreation Hub

    Renovations Transform Clark Park into First Class Neighborhood Recreation Hub

  • Culture & Arts
    Approximately 1,200 people Shouted ¡Viva México! in Mexicantown, Detroit

    Approximately 1,200 people Shouted ¡Viva México! in Mexicantown, Detroit

    Beyond Fashion: Mexican Indigenous Clothing has become a symbol of Resistance and Identity

    Beyond Fashion: Mexican Indigenous Clothing has become a symbol of Resistance and Identity

    Chicano Spirit Celebrated at Third Annual Festival

    Chicano Spirit Celebrated at Third Annual Festival

    Chicano Fest: Celebrating History and Brown Pride

    Chicano Fest: Celebrating History and Brown Pride

    Amanda Almanzar in 4 Daughters Minus 1, 2000 A.D.

    Amanda Almanzar in 4 Daughters Minus 1, 2000 A.D.

    El Chinchorreo: Detroit’s Day Under the Caribbean Sun

    El Chinchorreo: Detroit’s Day Under the Caribbean Sun

    El Chinchorreo!

    El Chinchorreo!

    NALAC Announces Open Call for the 2024 NALAC Fund for the Arts (NFA) Grant Program

    NALAC Announces Open Call for the 2024 NALAC Fund for the Arts (NFA) Grant Program

    Muralist from Southwest Detroit Receives Prestigious Kresge Artist Fellowship

    Muralist from Southwest Detroit Receives Prestigious Kresge Artist Fellowship

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A hole in one: Donut Villa is getting a drive-thru

EL CENTRAL by EL CENTRAL
August 25, 2022
in Featured, Food, Local Small Business
Reading Time: 3 mins read
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By Martina Guzmán

Walk into Donut Villa on W. Vernor Hwy. and Cavalry St. in Southwest Detroit, and you’ll see shelves filled with donuts. There’s blueberry, old-fashioned, glazed, and their famous apple fritters. Long-time customers sit around the orange Formica counter. They order double-doubles and maybe buy a scratch-off.

Donut Villa has existed in the same spot since 1975. It’s more than just a donut shop, it’s an institution. Like Duly’s Coney Island and Evie’s Tamales, these iconic establishments make up the character of the community.

In 2018, Gabriel Gutierrez, then 26 years old, bought Donut Villa from the original owners. Several other parties were interested in buying the business, but he was the only one who wanted to keep it as a donut shop.

“If I didn’t buy it, it might have been turned into a dentist’s office,” Gutierrez said.

But barely a year after he purchased the donut shop, Covid-19 swept the country. Hundreds of small businesses in Detroit closed because of a dine-in ban.

“I couldn’t serve customers because no one was allowed to enter the facility to get their coffee and donuts,” Gutierrez said. “I did have some people show up, which was great, but I needed another way to serve my clients.” Gutierrez had an idea—a drive-thru window.

A drive-thru would allow him to sell donuts in case of another dine-in ban. It’s also an area of growth that would increase sales long after the pandemic. The idea would start a year and a half-long process of permits and plans with architects, the zoning department, the appeals department, and building safety engineering.

“I thought you just knocked a hole into a wall and set up a little computer, and you got yourself a drive-thru,” Gutierrez said. “But no, all kinds of schematics and approvals have to happen.”

In the fall of 2002, W. Vernor Hwy was reclassified as a historical mainstay, making it difficult to alter the structure of historic buildings.

Gutierrez comes from a long line of successful entrepreneurs. His parents, Lydia and Richard Gutierrez founded Hacienda Mexican Foods in the early 1990s, and his father’s family established La Michoacana Tortillas, which the family has run for four generations.

Determined to get his drive-thru window, Gutierrez, with the help of Unfolding Architecture, appeared before the board of zoning appeals with signatures from members of the community and the support of ten local organizations.

Not only did he have community support, but he also showed that long before it was a donut shop, Donut Villa was an ice cream and burger shop that had once had a drive-thru.

“There was a window there; you could see how it was bricked over,” Gutierrez said.

He also presented several other examples of businesses with drive-thru windows along W. Vernor Hwy. “You have a McDonald’s with a drive-thru, a Checker’s with the drive-thru, and there’s a PNC Bank with a drive-thru on the corner,” Gutierrez said. “All these franchise businesses can have a drive-thru, but a longstanding business can’t?”

Gutierrez ultimately got permission to have not only a drive-thru but also some long-needed renovations like taking off some exterior paneling and replacing it with bricks.

“Things need to be upgraded, but I’m still trying to hold onto the feel and identity of the place, Gutierrez said. “In the end, people will let me know if they like it or not. I just want this business to be there for decades to come.”

Gabe Gutierrez, owner, Donut Villa
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