By Joe Hadsall
Globe Features Editor
JOPLIN, Mo. —
Marshall Spurrier is a doughnut fan. The fried pastries have been a regular part of the Spurrier family for years, he said. Every Saturday morning, he, his wife, Vicki, and two children would make a “doughnut run” and stock up on favorites.
Spurrier loved the apple fritters, and Vicki was a fan of the ones with cherry icing, he said.
“We’ve been buying them from other shops for at least 15 years,” Spurrier said. “We would always get a lot. Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. We’d have to throw them away by Sunday evening.”
It makes sense that the Spurrier’s latest business is a Daylight Donuts franchise. College Station was opened in April, and the bakery held its grand opening last week.
But Spurrier said he never thought he would do anything in the food business --Êmuch less anything that involves sales tax.
They used to own Component Packaging, a manufacturing facility in the Crossroads Industrial Park. They sold the business in 2006; Spurrier is also employed by Employer Advantage.
College Station is the definition of a family-owned and -operated business. Spurrier said he runs the kitchen side and Vicki handles quality control and the books. Their children -- Makenna, 18, and Michael, 16 -- also work shifts at the store.
Located at Duquesne and Seventh streets, College Station occupies space that formerly held Butterfly Koffee Klatch. Spurrier said they completely renovated the inside to resemble an uptown, metro coffee shop, complete with tables, chairs and plush couches.
Vicki said the shop offers cupcakes, muffins, cinnamon rolls, scones, cookies and a full line of coffee drinks, hot or iced. The bakery can also make custom designed cookies with custom logos, and offers parfaits for health-conscious eaters.
The shop also offers non-sweet breakfast items such as biscuits and gravy and sausage rolls. Customers can also use the restaurant’s free WiFi network.
But the main food features are the doughnuts. As a Daylight Donuts and Coffee franchise, they offer a full line of favorites, from glazed to apple fritters and everything in between.
Vicki said the Tulsa-based franchise has helped them introduce several new varieties, including the Persian, a cinnamon roll with maple icing rolled in graham cracker crumbs.
“We’ve made them only a couple of days,” Vicki said. “We’ve put out samples, and they have been pretty popular.”
Spurrier said the choice to sign with Daylight was easy -- the family would usually head to a Daylight Donuts shop during their Saturday morning trips while living in Pittsburg. The family lived in Pittsburg from 1985 until 1995, when they moved their manufacturing business and themselves to Joplin.
Daylight’s recipe uses a special, cholesterol-free flour, Spurrier said, making their offerings a tad bit healthier than other companies’.
A few of the family’s doughnut traditions have changed ever since they opened College Station, Spurrier said.
“We make a doughnut run every day,” he said.
The leftovers are also handled differently -- they used to throw away leftovers before they opened the shop. Now, they get donated to non-profit agencies that request them, such as the Ronald McDonald House, Lafayette House and The Bridge.
Spurrier’s favorite change: He gets to watch other families start similar traditions.
“What I love about this business is Saturdays and seeing families come in,” Spurrier said. “I know they are building memories just like us.”
