'every family, friend, volunteer' — windsor bakeries call in reinforcements for paczki day
it’s the mother of all cheat days. there was no calorie...
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jenna simms, owner of torus doughnuts in windsor, displays a tray of paczki on tuesday, march 4, 2025.
dan janisse
/
windsor star
it’s the mother of all cheat days.
there was no calorie counting and no guilt on tuesday as thousands of people faithfully observed a beloved windsor-detroit tradition: paczki day.
it’s that special time of year when everyone is polish, and uncomfortably full. the flavours and fillings may vary but every bakery that produces paczki — essentially softball-sized doughnuts — can agree on one thing.
“it’s our busiest day of the year,” said torus doughnuts owner jenna simms, one of the newer players on windsor’s century-old paczki scene. “it’s been very crazy. i’ve had my whole staff working 12-hour shifts all week long, just for it. that started last tuesday.”
paczki day falls on fat tuesday, or shrove tuesday, which comes before the start of lent for christians. it was traditionally a day to use ingredients before giving up rich foods for lent.
other cities know it as pancake tuesday.
river weaver, 2, bites into a paczki at the stiemar bread company in windsor on tuesday, march 4, 2025.
dan janisse
/
windsor star
moe lefrancois picks up paczkis at the stiemar bread company in windsor on tuesday, march 4, 2025.
dan janisse
/
windsor star
paczki, or paczek if you’re only having one for some reason, is the indulgence of choice in windsor and detroit thanks to their large polish communities.
europeans have eaten the hefty doughnuts since at least the middle ages.
the tradition began in windsor with blak’s bakery, which has been making paczki annually since the place opened in 1918. in what has morphed into paczki week for them, the bakery typically makes about 30,000 of the polish doughnuts.
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paczki originally came with prune filling. but they are now available in a range of flavours with powdered sugar on the outside.
stiemar bread, which opened in 1959, sold six flavours on tuesday.
the bakery departed with its usual protocol this year and didn’t take pre-orders, instead focusing on walk-ins. by the time the powdered sugar settled on tuesday, they were expecting to have sold about 30,000 paczki to a steady flow of regulars and newcomers.
“that’s a lot of doughnuts,” said supervisor lori theriault. “there are only a few doughnut makers left in the city. every day, doughnuts are in demand already in the city. but to have paczki, it makes it a little more special for those who like to come in on the day. it’s a huge celebration for a lot of workplaces.”
paczki buyers wait in line in the rain at the torus doughnuts store in windsor on tuesday, march 4, 2025.
dan janisse
/
windsor star
torus, which sold eight flavours of paczki, doesn’t keep track of numbers. but simms said sales have been in the thousands for the last couple of years.
“people get very excited,” she said. “it’s one time a year, the only time you can get them. i think that’s what makes it so exciting, that it’s only once a year.”
like other local bakeries, torus went into overdrive over the last week to be ready for the big day, increasing staff and working around the clock.
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on a regular day, torus employees start work at 5 a.m.
“for paczki day, we start at 8 p.m. the night before,” said simms. “we basically double our staff. we get every family, friend, volunteer that we can. it’s a busy day.”
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