Brunswick Historical Society presents history of Donut Land

BRUNSWICK — Donut Land owner Amanda Rienerth told the history and future of the small business her grandfather started 54 years ago during a Brunswick Historical Society meeting on Thursday. Her grandfather, William Rienerth Sr., learned how to make doughnuts while working as a fryer at Mr. Donut in 1960. Donut Land used to be a standalone building called Tastee Freez, which sold food like hotdogs and ice cream. "My grandfather did an interview back in 2000 with the historical society, where he talked about how people told him, 'Don't waste your time opening a doughnut shop because you're never going to make it,'" Rienerth said. Rienerth's grandfather became acquainted with Walt Bukszar, who owned longtime Brunswick business Walt's Pizza. "Lee's Pizza and Donuts is a place where my grandfather met Walt (Bukszar)," Rienerth said. "My grandfather and Walt began their friendship at Lee's Pizza and Donuts, where they discussed the future of Donut Land and Walt's Pizza. Walt purchased Lee's Pizza and Donuts, turned it into Walt's Pizza and Donuts while my grandfather opened Donut Land." When Bukszar decided to stop making doughnuts, he gave Rienerth's grandfather the "Hot Donut" sign, which still hangs in Donut Land. Rienerth said when Donut Land opened in 1972, doughnuts cost 99 cents a dozen. As part of her presentation, Rienerth showed photos of her family, employees and longtime customers inside the store throughout its history. "One of my grandfather's favorite pastimes was coming up to the doughnut shop and sitting at the bar, sitting in front of the store, hanging out with his buddies or drinking coffee with the customers," she said. In 2019, Rienerth's grandfather approached her and asked if she was interested in taking over the business because otherwise he would need to shut it down or sell it. At the time, Rienerth was working full-time and running a company, but she made the decision to leave her career and take over the family business. "I hadn't worked there since I was a teenager, so I came and I worked every weekend for about two months," she said. "When I was 16, he would not teach me how to fry because he knew I wanted to be a healthcare provider or a nurse, and he said, 'Go do that.' That's what I did, so I didn't learn how to bake or fry until 2019." Rienerth's mother and two daughters also worked at Donut Land while they were teenagers. "My daughter, Abbie (Kurilec), she's my assistant manager, and she's really stepped it up this past year," Rienerth said. "She went to the Medina County Career Center for the culinary program, and she's also the brains behind the flavor of the week that we do in the summer. She's been amazing, and grandpa would be so proud." Shortly after Rienerth's grandfather's death in 2021, Donut Land underwent a remodeling since a lot of the equipment was old and falling apart. She said it was important to her to keep the essence of the old-school business, like the checkerboard flooring. "One of the most important things that got me to do the remodel was that we severely needed a new hood above our fryer," she said. "The one that we had was the original from Tastee Freez, and it was no longer doing its job." In 2019, Donut Land had 12 employees, and the business has expanded to around 40 employees, Rienerth said. Donut Land also hit record sales this year for paczki by selling 2,626 dozen around Fat Tuesday. Now Donut Land is moving into a bigger space to accommodate its growing business. Rienerth signed the paperwork for the former Rite Aid building in Brunswick earlier this year. "Our current building is just under 2,000 square feet," she said. "This location that we'll be in is 12,500 square feet." Construction is scheduled to be completed on the new building on June 5, which is National Doughnut Day, she said. From there, the old location will close and everything will be transferred to the new location, which could take a few weeks. "Then we're going to have a soft launch because we'll have to get used to some new equipment," Rienerth said. "My grandfather's birthday is July 7, so I'd like to try to do the grand opening on that date if we can. That's my goal." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.