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Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 53F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Updated: September 18, 2023 @ 6:02 am
Clockwise from left, Alivia Fernette, 16, Donya Fernette, Dalton Fernette, 14, Brandy Boudin, Ryleigh Fernette, 8, and Maddie Fernette, 10, stand in the Donut Hut at the Unadilla Diner in this late August photo.
Clockwise from left, Alivia Fernette, 16, Donya Fernette, Dalton Fernette, 14, Brandy Boudin, Ryleigh Fernette, 8, and Maddie Fernette, 10, stand in the Donut Hut at the Unadilla Diner in this late August photo.
The Fernette family of South New Berlin is bringing new life — and donuts — to the Unadilla Diner.
Donya and Keith Fernette launched their second Donut Hut & Bakery from the 198 Main St., Unadilla landmark in late August. Donya Fernette said they will continue operating The Donut Hut & Bakery of Norwich at 6173 state Highway 12 in that town.
The family’s donut dreams, Fernette said, have been decades in the making.
“My husband owned a donut business in Massachusetts in ’99, and he wanted to do that again and bring it back to here,” she said. “So, for 20 years, we’ve been contemplating it, and finally took the plunge. We had a Chenango Forks location before Norwich and it was a great product, but wrong location; then Norwich opened December 7 last year. We saw (the Unadilla Diner vacancy) on the (Facebook) marketplace, and we had inquired about it. They had multiple people to choose from, but, due to our ratings and reviews, they chose us, which was pretty impressive. We’ve made a good name for ourselves.”
Customers, Fernette said, are confirming that.
“A lot of people were really happy that we were coming to the area,” she said. “We already draw people from all over. In Norwich, it’s a younger crowd to middle-aged, and here it’s more senior citizens, but it’s a good mix here. We’ve got really good reviews and a very good support crew, but we couldn’t do it without the customers. I dedicate a lot of our success to good customers. Without any of them, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Fernette said the fare is fueling that support.
“We make everything from scratch, and we make everything fresh daily,” she said. “We offer donuts, pastries and full breakfasts and breakfast sandwiches and burritos. And burgers and fries and we’re going to be getting into chicken wings and we’re going to be offering dinners on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, in a couple weeks; we just haven’t come up with the menu yet, so we’ve got to get used to the place and the feel of everything. We’re expanding a little (from the Norwich menu), because it’s bigger and we can utilize the space more.”
Donut flavors, Fernette said, change seasonally. Customer favorites, she said, include raspberry cheesecake donuts, blueberry cheesecake, coconut dream and peanut butter and jelly. The Donut Hut will also present new flavors based on customer input, she said.
“We do a wide variety of donuts, and they change daily so that our customers don’t get bored,” she said. “Me and my husband and the kids will try new things and, if something comes to us, we put it together and see how the crowds like it.”
Fernette credited family and friends with bringing the business to fruition.
“We have 12 kids,” she said, noting ages from 8 through 27. “And hats off to them, because they’re right here chugging along with the family. It’s been a family ordeal and some close friends have helped us along and helped with work, but mostly, it’s all family.”
Fernette said, as the Donut Hut establishes itself in Unadilla, she and her husband plan to expand offerings in and out of the space.
“He’s thinking about getting bands in here, and we do a lot of commercial accounts,” she said. “We just did 125 dozen donuts for Colgate College and nobody else would take on that many dozen. We just did Donna Frech (School of Dance), and that was just shy of 200 dozen. We do a lot of fundraisers for schools; our specialty donuts we do for fundraisers are $16 a dozen, then they make $5 off it, and we make $11 to cover product; for glaze, they make $5 and we make $10.”
The Donut Hut/Unadilla Diner is open from 4 a.m. to 3 p.m., daily. Fernette said early-morning hours may change, and evening hours will be added once dinner service begins.
For more information, find “The Donut Hut & Bakery” on Facebook.
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