Photo by CHB
Word has spread. Lone Star Donuts is open again, after a COVID-era reset, during which the shop halted production of donuts and breakfast sandwiches that made them neighborhood famous.
Hustling to fill orders and all out of breakfast burritos on a Thursday near lunchtime, manager Brianna Pantoja says she’s been busy since news broke of the re-opening. I ordered an assortment of already-made donuts to keep the line moving, and why did I do that? (I have taken a bite of four and given two away and I cannot be trusted with these delectable remains.)
In November 2020, after the 73-year-old bakery took a hit related to pandemic lockdowns and restrictions, Lone Star reduced hours and offerings, stopped serving fresh donuts, and started operating as Lone Star Consolidated Foods, producing pastries, bread and biscuits for national chains.
They closed “indefinitely” last summer, along with other fits and starts since 2020, and this week, the doors re-opened.
The aroma that hits hardest upon entering wafts from the corn Lone Star pops until 2 p.m. and sells in large quantities (one lady walked out with a bag-o-popcorn taller than she was, I swear).
The Burdine family has owned Lone Star Donuts since 1957, and it moved to its current location on Beckley Avenue in 1963, the Advocate has reported in years past. The Burdines brought out their partners, the Wards, in 1957. The original shop was located in what is now the Bishop Arts District.
As Advocate reported, the two families opening in 1950 with one employee who cut the dough, and they produced and sold 300 doughnuts a day. The husbands made deliveries, and the wives ran the shop.
Lone Star CEO Marcus Johnson, who has been with the company since 2016, told the Dallas Morning News that general manager Pantoja “is single-handedly changing the direction of Lone Star,” making donuts, upgrading the coffee, even painting the walls of the shop on weekends.
Some employees have been with the store more than 30 years, and they all report total support of the new approach.
