SANDY’S DONUTS & COFFEE SHOP

Living the American Dream, in the Sweetest Way Possible

By Marie Laska

Take time to stop and smell the donuts!” is a slogan that can be seen communitywide on t-shirts, cups and business cards, and is rooted in a family business started over 31 years ago in West Fargo. It was 1983 when the scent of fresh donuts first filled the air, after Sanfred (Sandy) Ostlund and his wife Donna established Sandy’s Donuts & Coffee Shop. Donut making was originally a hobby for Ostlund, using his mom’s recipe and often giving away the donuts to his neighbors. It was only after the closure of the transport company where Ostlund had been employed for 18 years that his baking went from a hobby to a business.

As a frustrated Ostlund explained to his friends and family, “Nobody wants to hire a 53-yearold man,” and upon some encouragement from his neighbors an idea of opening a donut shop was born. After borrowing some money and visiting a donut business out of town, a rented building in West Fargo quickly became a donut shop sensation.

With community members coming in droves to enjoy the fresh, buttermilk donuts and keeping Ostlund and his wife baking at all hours of the night, their son Mark soon shelved his college dreams of becoming an architect and instead came home to help his overwhelmed parents (both of whom had stopped going home to rest and instead were utilizing sleeping bags at the store in order to be able to keep up with demand). Since then Sandy’s has grown to a company with over 70 employees and expanded in 2014 to a downtown Fargo location, with plans for future Fargo/ Moorhead development. Reflecting upon his family’s legacy Mark relates a favorite quote by Maria Robinson: “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

Though Ostlund passed away in 2008, Mark continues to provide the service that loyal customers have come to expect: a consistent, quality product and a staff that makes customers feel like family. The focus on quality specifically has resulted in another of Sandy’s Donuts slogans: “We didn’t invent the donut … but we perfected it!” And as Broadway location manager Ann Olson explained, “We have people come in all the time who tell us that they have been all over the country and have never tasted a donut like this.”

Limited only by their imaginations (and with some help from Pinterest), Mark and his crew have designed over 70 different donut varieties with new donuts created monthly. Production manager Jesse Ostlund, Mark’s son, tallies the total output of donuts at between eight and nine thousand per day. Along with the donuts, customers have also come to enjoy fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies, muffins, bars and the ever-popular donut cakes.

Following an early morning rush, Sandy’s also enjoys an equally busy lunch period, with homemade soups, salads, sandwiches and paninis offered at both locations. Sandy’s downtown shop also features fresh-roasted coffee beans twice weekly from Stumbeano’s in Fergus Falls, allowing for an expansive beverage menu including coffees, lattes and mochas. And with the Broadway location being open until 8 p.m., an evening crowd has enjoyed fulfilling their latenight cravings.

Ever cognizant of the Sandy’s Donuts legacy and connections to the West Fargo, Fargo and Moorhead communities, the staff has also prioritizes giving back and helping others. With a mission statement of “To Make People Happy, One Donut At A Time,” General Manager Rose Bonnet describes how Sandy’s has donated tens of thousands of donuts to local homeless and women’s shelters, non-profits and churches. Mark, being a Bison fan, also recently enjoyed giving away over 500 donuts during ESPN Game Day and 1,000 green and gold drizzled donuts during NDSU homecoming (with some help from Coach Klieman in passing out the goods).

Through their strong ties to tradition and commitment to quality, Mark and his dedicated staff have not only embodied the American dream in the sweetest way possible, but they have also given the community a place to slow down and enjoy a simple donut with family and friends.

FOR HOURS OF OPERATION and a more detailed description of products, please visit www.sandysdonuts.com