For the past 30 years, Christine DeHart has gotten up before daybreak to mix dough, cut it into bear claws and pine cones and cook them up in the fryer, to fill the shelves of her bakery, Daylight Donuts, on South Main.
Last Saturday, she did it for the last time.
Christine is retiring from the business she and her husband opened after they moved to Clinton in 1985 to support their family. After Christine was widowed, she continued to operate it on her own.
And her regulars, both human and canine, will miss her.
When anyone with a dog in the car comes into Daylight Donuts, Christine goes out to the car to feed the dog a doughnut hole.
Inside, regulars help themselves to coffee, and offer to top up other customers’ cups. There weren’t many people at the donut shop last Saturday, as weekdays attract more local business owners. Andi Schmidt, owner of Silhouettes By Andrea, a lingerie boutique next door, and her daughters are big fans. Other regulars are Judy and Jim Saunders, and Shawn Roddy.
The Daylight Donuts building is owned by Creston Peck, who has renovated the upper level into a loft apartment. Creston said he and Chad Beaty, his business partner at Mallard’s, plan to open the Hamburger Joint in the space by next summer.
