COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — A Commerce City donut shop is celebrating 95 years of business.
Tasty Donuts takes the crown for one of the longest standing small businesses in the Denver area. The shop opened in 1929 and is still using the same doughnut recipe.
Tasty Donuts didn’t get its name because of the coffee. It got its name because of their handcrafted little rings of happiness.
“You can’t beat ‘em,” said longtime customer Larry Crom. “I like them better than anywhere else.”
Crom is 81 years old and has been devouring these donuts since he was a teenager.
“My sister got a job here,” said Crom. “So, I’d come in here and get donuts and stuff.”
That was back when a dozen cost less than a dollar.
“It’s been around a long time,” said Crom. “It’s more or less a trademark for the community.”
The business is so old, Commerce City wasn’t even named Commerce City, yet. At the time, it was the town of Derby.
“Those pictures right there tell you the story of this place,” said owner Maynor Ventura, as he pointed to a collection of photos hanging on the wall in the donut shop. Ventura bought Tasty Donuts a few years ago.
“We got trained by the previous owner to make sure we don’t lose any of what made Tasty Donuts, Tasty Donuts,” he said.
Ventura said the business has had the same name and has used the same recipe for 95 years.
“We’ve got to live up to the reputation,” said Ventura.
It’s more than just a place to satisfy a craving, the Commerce City donut shop has become a living archive of stories.
“You can come in here any single day of the week, and you will see someone that you haven’t seen for a long time, and you just connect again,” said lifelong customer June Younger.
“We used to come over from east Denver and pick up donuts in the 70s,” said customer René Bullock.
Both Bullock and Younger agree, Tasty Donuts is a testament to the timeless bond between people and pastries.
When Crom stops by for a donut, he spends most of his time in the dining room, but he knows what it’s like to be on the other side of the counter.
“After I got out of the Army this basically ah- it was, yeah, you could say it was my first job,” said Crom.
Crom got out of the Army and started working at the shop when he was 19 years old, the same current employee Heidi Martinez is now.
“I didn’t even know that he used to work here,” said Martinez. “I just know that he’s one of our regulars.”
“I don’t plan on going anywhere,” Crom said laughing.
“We have a lot of customers that come and tell us they used to work here,” said Martinez. “I’ll probably come back here and say the same thing.”
Ninety-five years after it first opened in the town of Derby, the small local business continues to mix the flavor of tradition with the sweetness of shared memories.
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