Brooke Grasso
Editor in Chief
Downtown La Verne at 4 a.m. is dark, quiet and lifeless– until you approach Miss Donuts and Bagel. The smell of baking dough covered in sweet frosting wafts down the silent street, and the ones there to enjoy it are students who heard about the magic of the place, when the rest of the city is asleep.
Staying up until the early hours of the morning to taste warm, fresh donuts from the local donut shop is a tradition that many students experience at least once.
“It might be weird, but it’s a fun little adventure,” Aundria Gregg, junior educational studies major, said.
Gregg has gone on the early morning donut run more than once, but one of the most memorable trips was during her freshman year after a Campus Activities Board event. While she was with her friends in the Stu Han lounge at 1 a.m. someone suggested the group stay awake.
“She said, ‘You guys, we have to stay up until 4 a.m. to get donuts,’ and I was like ‘Why is that a thing?’ and she said ‘No, no, no — believe me, we have to wait,’” Gregg said.
When the time approached, Gregg and her friends banged on the doors of their floor mates, who needed a power nap before their walk down D Street. Besides an early morning jogger, they were the only ones there.
Although she enjoyed the donuts, she said the most enjoyable part of the night was waiting around with her friends and having deep conversations. Since Gregg is in Greek life, Miss Donuts’ opening time is an inspiration to stay awake after late night events.
“You only do college once, so why not?” Elias Maldonado, senior psychology major, asked.
Maldonado was at a rock painting last semester and decided a trip to Miss Donuts would be a fun, spontaneous outing. He said it could even turn into a challenge to see if they were able to stay awake.
“Lets see if we can last until 4 a.m. so we can go get donuts, because who doesn’t like donuts when they’re barely awake?” Maldonado asked.
The light at the end of the challenging tunnel is a maple bar for Maldonado and a crumb donut for Gregg.
The trips have not gone unnoticed to Miss Donuts owner Danny Sov, who recently started helping his brother who has owned the shop for more than 10 years.
Sov said he has seen students come in to get coffee and even get work done in those early hours of the morning. Since he was previously a student, he said he remembers how tough it was being awake at 4 a.m.
“It’s hard to find something open at 4 a.m., especially here in La Verne,” Sov said. “I’m glad students come by early in the morning and choose our shop, it means a lot to me.”
Miss Donuts’ baker can be seen going in to prepare the next morning’s donuts around 7 or 8 p.m. and soon after all of D street starts to smell like the inside of the shop. All of the donuts and bagels are made fresh, none of them are store bought, making the trip even more enticing.
“The students are a big part of us and what we do, so I am really grateful that they continue to support us,” Sov said.
Brooke Grasso can be reached at brooke.grasso@laverne.edu.
